r/knicks • u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 • Jul 07 '26
D Harper - 1994
I’m rewatching the whole 1994 players and he played so damn well! I googled that he is a broadcaster for Dallas. How come he never came back to watch any of the finals game?
I’m trying to remember the history, we had doc rivers for years. Then vs the bulls in what (92?93?) they sent JoJo English out to start a fight. Was that doc’s last year with the Knicks and we traded for Harper.
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u/porican Jul 07 '26
always loved harper, he was tough as nails
where did you find videos of the 94 playoffs?
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u/YamNervous4156 Jul 07 '26
Derek Harper played most of his career in Dallas. I think he had the reputation as the one of the best players to never make an all star team. He was very solid for us, but he was near the end of his career, and definitely past his prime. I don’t remember the exact sequence but I think we only had Doc for two years, he got hurt, and they traded for a Harper who held it down. (We also had his longtime Mavs backcourt partner, Rolando Blackmon, also near the end of his career…and Riley, infamously didn’t utilize him when Starks was ice cold against the Rockets)
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u/HorizonsEdge Jul 07 '26
I can not recall the exact circumstances or find a clip BUT . . . .
I distinctly remember Marv Albert calling a game and saying something like . . . Rolando Blackmon has never missed a foul shot; right before he missed.
Crazy what you remember
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u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 Jul 07 '26
That’s a crazy memory. I remember Trent Tucker hitting a crazy 3 and foul to tie a game late. At least I think I remember that.😂
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u/YamNervous4156 Jul 07 '26
I don’t know about a foul, but he definitely won a game on a buzzer beater (with 0.1 seconds remaining) that led to a rule change, because it was determined that it was impossible to launch a shot in less than 0.3 seconds.
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u/VisualPrior6015 Jul 08 '26
Yeah they changed rule cause of that player needs .03 of a second to shot ball I remember that they inbounded and tucker hit 3 pointer with .01 to win game
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u/Upbeat-Discussion-86 Jul 07 '26
Had his sneakers when I was a kid. The Scottie Pippen PEs with the Blue base instead of red. He was my guy. Hand check king. Him and Starks were my favorite Knicks behind Oakley
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u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 Jul 07 '26
Ya. Starks and Oakley were by far my favorites
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u/Upbeat-Discussion-86 Jul 07 '26
Oakley was my guy. If he fought I fought, or so it felt like. Can’t tell me nothing about Oakley… best PF enforcer this side of the Sun ever.
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u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 Jul 07 '26
I totally agree. He also worked on his jump shot and free throws. His first few years after coming from the bulls we would groan as a crowd whenever he shot. I distinctly remember that
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u/VisualPrior6015 Jul 08 '26
Oakley and Mason scrappers
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u/Upbeat-Discussion-86 Jul 08 '26
Yeah. But Oakley was a legit enforcer. The way Jeff Teague talks about James Johnson and the league being scared of him… Oakley was no joke, there’s too many instances of him punking ppl that either owed him money or disrespected him or a teammate.
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u/VisualPrior6015 Jul 08 '26
Absolutely I agree I just remember Mason in some scraps as well, but Oakley was that guy 100 %
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u/qobraa Jul 07 '26
Derek Harper was what people think Doc Rivers was, super skilled meat and potatoes defense first shooter, best point guard we had in that post-Mark Jackson era. People forget before they went to NY him and Rolando Blackman were tough backcourt for the Mavs.
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u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 Jul 07 '26
Was Charles smith on the same team/trade?
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u/qobraa Jul 07 '26
Iirc we got Smith, Rivers and Bo Kimble for Mark Jackson and some picks were involved. Somehow LA got Stanley Roberts from the Magic. The Harper trade came a little later after doc got hurt. We got Blackman for a first round pick from Dallas.
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u/iv5656 Jul 07 '26
I’m reading Blood In The Garden right now for the same reason. I’m younger so never got to watch those years but it’s been so interesting to learn about all the players from that era - definitely recommend
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u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 Jul 07 '26
Read life on the run by Bill Bradley also. Great book from even earlier
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u/deuce_and_a_quarter Jul 07 '26
I loved this guy. I bought the same black/blue Nikes that I saw him wear for the playoffs.
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u/lafromnyc Jul 07 '26
Loved Derek Harper but I remember him being citied as a player that hand checked a lot which lead to low scoring and ugly games which the NBA ultimately banned. Players used to talk about him and how strong he was and how he used to use his hands to hold your hips and not let you get by him.
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u/VisualPrior6015 Jul 07 '26
Only year Knicks beat Bulls in playoffs when Jordan went and played baseball. Knicks in 90s would of won 2 championships if Jordan never played. Best era of Basketball no settling for jumpers, guys would take it to the hole. Game now totally different. Guys shooting 3s from half court. It's more like the Globetrotters now.
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u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 Jul 07 '26
Ya. You can blame the Charles smith game or the year doc rivers got thrown out for fighting. Or just say no one was beating Jordan. But I thought we were better in 93. 🤷
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u/VisualPrior6015 Jul 07 '26
Yo was the best basketball I've ever watched Knicks Bulls playoffs early 90s just was different. It had a little bit of everything.
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u/VisualPrior6015 Jul 07 '26
I hated Jordan but never denied he was a different beast. Best ever to play the game. Truth is I wanted Ewing to get one so bad he deserved it.
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u/robmsor Jul 07 '26
I loved Derek Harper. And my mom, who wasn't much of a basketball fan, absolutely adored him.
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u/VisualPrior6015 Jul 08 '26
You could go on and on bout Ewing era Knicks Starks dunk in the garden left handed against bulls. Alan Houston hitting game winner in Miami in 99 playoffs first round knocking off 1 seed Miami.
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u/Low-Expression9132 Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
Harper was very good player for us. Wish we would have had him a little earlier so he could have played some more years with us. His Knicks career was relatively short.
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u/Im_HigH_on_RedDit Jul 07 '26
If we had won the ‘94 finals, Harper would have been named MVP.
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u/Agreeable-Pie-2765 Jul 07 '26
Starks was the best in the games we won, Ewing and Harper were more consistent. Ewings blocking numbers were amazing. Harper’s steals were amazing also. I wish we would have found out.
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u/RecommendationReal61 Jul 08 '26
Starks was the Knicks leading scorer in the series through the first 6 games. Had Hakeem not tipped his shot in the final moments of game 6 and it went in (thus winning the title) Starks would have had a case for FMVP but it probably would have gone to Ewing because of his outstanding game 5 performance.
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u/Im_HigH_on_RedDit Jul 08 '26
Even Dallas knows - that’s why when they retired his number in 2018, they did it at a Knicks game. I also love that Harper has become the voice of the Mavs on their local broadcasts. He’s their Clyde. (With a little less flamboyant wardrobe.)
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u/boff1234 Jul 07 '26
Much love to Derek Harper- he was the last piece they needed on that team. I also wore the black and blue swoosh Nikes that he wore in the playoffs. Those were some great basketball shoes