NBA Champion Ron Harper Criticizes Lakers For Hanging In-Season Tournament Banner
Former NBA player Ron Harper knows all about winning championships.
He won five during his playing career, including three with the Michael Jordan-led and Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls in the 1990s and two with the Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal Los Angeles Lakers. So you can imagine his feelings when the Lakers raised their banner for winning the league's first In-Season Tournament title.
That's right, the banner now stands next to the Lakers' other 17 titles at Staples Center. Harper took to social media to express his disappointment.
He wrote, "Embarrassing to all of those NBA finals championships banners… WOW."
The Lakers won the In-Season Tournament on the backs of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James went far as saying as the competition feeling like the NCAA Tournament. He never had that experience because he bypassed college to enter the NBA draft.
Harper seemed to take offense of anyone comparing the In-Season Tournament to an actual championship. After receiving minimal success with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers at the beginning of his career, Harper got a taste of winning with the Bulls and Lakers.
He ended his 16-year career in 2001, finishing with 13,910 points, 4,309 rebounds and 3,915 assists. He was often called a poor's man Jordan before the two later became teammates.
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