BOSTON — Ron Harper Jr. vividly remembers what it was like to be a little kid attending basketball camps and hoping to meet an NBA player. So, on Tuesday afternoon, when he was the guest of honor at the Junior Celtics Academy, it was a full-circle moment.
The 26-year-old Celtic guard answered a litany of questions from the kids in attendance, competed in knockout games, and partook in drills.
All of it came just a few weeks after he signed his first multi-year NBA contract, a 4-year, $14 million extension that gave him his first long-term assurance he’ll be in the league.
“It was great,” Harper Jr. said. “It just felt really rewarding — a team that I have a lot of respect for, a team that I want to play for for a long time. So, for that to be able to happen in a city like this, playing for a team like the Boston Celtics, I’m honored, and I’m ready to put the work in.”
It was a long journey to get here: Harper Jr. joined the Celtics for the 2024 and 2025 training camps, and began last year on a training camp deal with Boston. He was one of five players competing for the team’s final two-way spot, a battle he ultimately won. On the Maine Celtics, he quickly established himself as one of the G-League’s best all-around players. By February, he was spending nearly all of his time with the parent club.
A February 4th game between the Celtics and the Houston Rockets served as an inflection point in Harper’s season; he started for the first time in his career, guarded Rockets star Kevin Durant, and showed himself — and the world — he belonged. It’s a game that Joe Mazzulla has pointed to as well in that it showcased Harper’s readiness and preparation.
“The first time I really played meaningful minutes was when I started in Houston, and that kind of came to be because of the Anfernee trade, and it happened all really fast,” Harper said. “But I feel like after that game where I started and I played all those minutes, and I played well, I felt like after that point I felt like I’d be a real contributor to this team and a part of bringing this team back to the championship. So, that’s something I look forward to doing next year.”
Notably, he also got a surprise start in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers, something that meant a lot: “It shows that they believe in me at the highest level, with it all on the line.”
Still, he entered the offseason a free agent, uncertain about whether he’d get a long-term commitment from Boston.
But on June 27th, he officially agreed to a contract that served as the culmination of years of hard work.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity; that they believe in me, that they want me here long-term,” Harper said. “It’s just motivation to keep on getting better and keep proving them right. So that’s something I look forward to doing.”
It will be an uphill climb for rotation minutes in Boston
Ron Harper Jr. will be one of several Celtics wings competing for minutes next season, a list that includes Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Sam Hauser.
He emphasized that the healthy competition for on-court opportunities never gets in the way of the players’ support for one another.
“That’s the beautiful thing about being on the Celtics,” he said. “We all care about each other. We all want each other to succeed, no matter what it looks like. It’s a lot of guys competing for minutes, but also pushing each other to get better. So we’re just worried about being great teammates, pushing each other to get better, and going about it in the right way.”
Next year, Harper’s training camp experience will start a bit differently than it has the previous two Octobers. That’s because Jaylen Brown, who grew to be one of Harper’s mentors, will no longer be on the roster.
“Obviously sad to see him go — a guy that I’ve grown close to in my time at the Celtics across two training camps and a full season, a guy that I have a lot of respect for, and a guy that still trusted me when I was still on an Exhibit-10,” he said. “So I remember the message he’s sharing with me, the motivation he’s given me, and the advice he’s given me. And it sucks to see him go. This is a business more than anything, so I wish him luck in the future — except when he plays us.”
Though Brown is gone, Harper will get to team up with Paul George, a player whom he grew up watching on TV. He hasn’t yet crossed paths with George in Boston, but the two are already bound by the fact that Harper gave George jersey No. 13, which he wore last year. Harper will wear instead No. 8, and he said that the number swap benefited “both parties.”
“We don’t got to get into the exact details,” Harper Jr said with a smile. “About an hour after the trade, I got a phone call saying he wanted the number, so me and him were able to work it out. We’ll have some funny conversations about that for sure. But I’m happy that he’s able to get back to his number, get back to PG-13 for sure.”
In the meantime, the former Rutgers star is spending most of his summer at the facility, where he and many of his teammates are already preparing for the year ahead.
“Just the easiest place for me to work out, stay around the coaches,” Harper said. “I feel like they have a really good plan for me. So just sticking with what they got, they got prepared for me, just showing up every day. And I’ve been here, whether it’s been an optional week or mandatory week — I try to be in Boston the most as I possibly could.”
He knows the Celtics believe in him, and he’s working tirelessly to show the world why.
“They like my versatility on the offensive and defensive end, my ability to play on and off the ball, my ability to guard — so just looking forward to showcasing all those talents.”
