15 stars you might have forgot played for the Los Angeles Lakers
By Amaar Burton
11. Derek Harper (1999)
In the late-1980s and throughout the 1990s, Derek Harper earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s best perimeter defenders.
He was a two-time All-Defensive Team selection with the Dallas Mavericks. With the New York Knicks, Harper’s physical, hand-checking style came to define a decade of NBA play.
Great to see Derek Harper honored with No. 12 retired by #Mavs. Pitbull defender and clutch playmaker on some of best teams in franchise history. Most don’t realize how close Mavs were to being as good as Showtime Lakers 1987-88.
— Richie Whitt (@richiewhitt) January 8, 2018
In the final year of that decade, for the final season of his career, Harper made a cameo with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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Following the NBA labor lockout that began in 1998 and stretched into 1999, Harper signed with L.A. prior to the shortened season.
Harper averaged 6.9 points, 4.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game as a part-time starter, the 37-year-old veteran platooning with a young Derek Fisher. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers earn the No. 4 seed in the West, but they were swept in the second round by the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs.