Player profile · DAL / LAL / NYK / ORL

Derek Harper

Derek Harper stats, teams and career impact

#165 all-timeCareer averages · 13.3 PPG · 2.4 RPG · 5.5 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Position: Point guard
Final NBA team: Los Angeles Lakers
Height / weight: 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) · 185 lb (84 kg)
Born: October 13, 1961 (65 yrs old)
College: Illinois
NBA seasons: 16 seasons · 1983–84 to 1998–99

Career or season view

Career summaryDerek Harper was a point guard who played 16 NBA seasons, from 1983–84 through 1998–99.

Career PPG: 13.3
Career RPG: 2.4
Career APG: 5.5; #12 in 1986–87; #165 all-time

Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Career overview

Why Derek Harper ranks #165 all time

Derek Harper ranks #165 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #15.7. His full-career value ranks #109, so longevity is a major reason he lands this high.

Peak#12 in 1986–87

Best league finish

Sustained excellence16 ranked seasons

450+ minutes required per season

Career breadth16 seasons

1,199 games · Career Value Rank #109

NBA honors2× All-DefenseContext only; honors are not model inputs.

Head to head

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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources

Full team history

Teams: Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, and Los Angeles Lakers
Greatest Mavericks →Greatest Lakers →Greatest Knicks →Greatest Magic →

Career shooting

NBA regular season

Field goal: 46.3%FG%
Three-point: 35.4%3P%
Free throw: 74.5%FT%

1,199 career games · 37,786 minutes

Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.

Traditional box score

Derek Harper stats by season

Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.

Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.

Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →

				pts/100 · higher is better
1998–99	6.9	1.5	4.2	-1.02	LAL	45	29	24.9	41.2%	36.8%	81.3%	#162	21.0
1997–98	8.6	1.6	3.5	-1.06	ORL	66	45	26.7	41.7%	36.0%	69.6%	#186	30.1
1996–97	10.0	1.8	4.3	-0.75	DAL	75	29	29.5	44.4%	34.1%	74.2%	#160	51.3
1995–96	14.0	2.5	4.3	-0.01	NYK	82	82	35.3	46.4%	37.2%	75.7%	#124	109.4
1994–95	11.5	2.4	5.7	-0.47	NYK	80	80	34.0	44.6%	36.3%	72.4%	#140	78.8
1993–94	9.6	1.7	4.1	-0.27	DAL/NYK	82	55	26.9	40.7%	36.0%	68.7%	#131	74.5
1992–93	18.2	2.0	5.4	+1.44	DAL	62	60	34.0	41.9%	39.3%	75.6%	#60	150.5
1991–92	17.7	2.6	5.7	+1.59	DAL	65	64	34.6	44.3%	31.2%	75.9%	#52	159.1
1990–91	19.7	3.0	7.1	+3.18	DAL	77	77	37.4	46.7%	36.2%	73.1%	#25	292.6
1989–90	18.0	3.0	7.4	+4.22	DAL	82	82	36.7	48.8%	37.1%	79.4%	#17	368.2
1988–89	17.3	2.8	7.0	+3.27	DAL	81	81	36.6	47.7%	35.6%	80.6%	#18	312.7
1987–88	17.0	3.0	7.7	+2.99	DAL	82	82	37.0	45.9%	31.3%	75.9%	#21	305.4
1986–87	16.0	2.6	7.9	+4.21	DAL	77	76	33.2	50.1%	35.8%	68.4%	#12	332.3
1985–86	12.2	2.9	5.3	+2.88	DAL	79	39	27.2	53.4%	23.5%	74.7%	#24	223.4
1984–85	9.6	2.4	4.4	+2.00	DAL	82	1	27.0	52.0%	34.4%	72.1%	#35	182.6
1983–84	5.7	2.1	2.9	-1.33	DAL	82	1	20.9	44.3%	11.5%	67.3%	#158	23.8
Career	13.3	2.4	5.5	—	DAL/LAL/NYK/ORL	1199	—	31.5	46.3%	35.4%	74.5%	—	—

Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.

What these measures mean

Box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
Impact Rate: A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
Impact estimate: The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
Impact Rate rank: The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
Value contribution / Season Value: Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
Career Impact Rank: An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.

Career Impact Rank#165

21.1 composite · lower is better

Best 5#158

18.4 average league finish

Career Value Rank#109

2,716 total value

Impact Rate: 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
Box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.

Career standing

How Derek Harper ranks all time

These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.

Number-one seasons0

Best in the league

Top-five seasons0

Elite finishes

Top-ten seasons0

Upper-tier finishes

Top-10 Impact Margin0.0

Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons

Career Composite Score21.1

Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.

Best 3 effective weight: 74%
Missing-season finish: 290.0
Qualified seasons: 16
All-time rank: #165

Strongest seasons

Every season

Derek Harper advanced stats by season

Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.

More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage

					pts/100 · higher is better	0–100 · higher is better
1998–99Historical Defense Estimate	LAL	37	45	1,120	-1.02	41.7	#162	21.0	44th	Broad
1997–98Historical Defense Estimate	ORL	36	66	1,761	-1.06	41.6	#186	30.1	42nd	Broad
1996–97Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	35	75	2,210	-0.75	49.7	#160	51.3	57th	Broad
1995–96Historical Defense Estimate	NYK	34	82	2,893	-0.01	62.2	#124	109.4	72nd	Broad
1994–95Historical Defense Estimate	NYK	33	80	2,716	-0.47	55.0	#140	78.8	68th	Broad
1993–94Historical Defense Estimate	DAL/NYK	32	82	2,204	-0.27	55.3	#131	74.5	63rd	Broad
1992–93Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	31	62	2,108	+1.44	80.0	#60	150.5	79th	Broad
1991–92Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	30	65	2,252	+1.59	82.4	#52	159.1	81st	Broad
1990–91Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	29	77	2,879	+3.18	91.8	#25	292.6	92nd	Broad
1989–90Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	28	82	3,007	+4.22	94.4	#17	368.2	95th	Broad
1988–89Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	27	81	2,968	+3.27	93.5	#18	312.7	94th	Broad
1987–88Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	26	82	3,032	+2.99	92.0	#21	305.4	95th	Broad
1986–87Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	25	77	2,556	+4.21	95.7	#12	332.3	95th	Broad
1985–86Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	24	79	2,150	+2.88	90.9	#24	223.4	91st	Broad
1984–85Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	23	82	2,218	+2.00	86.6	#35	182.6	84th	Broad
1983–84Historical Defense Estimate	DAL	22	82	1,712	-1.33	36.7	#158	23.8	41st	Broad

Career movement

Derek Harper's box impact by season

Peak box impact +4.22 points per 100 possessions in 1989–90 · 16 seasons · 37,786 minutes

Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.

Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutes

Player-specific impact scaleWorkload

Career comparison

Compare the shape, not the calendar

Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.

Compare with a similar careerOpen full comparison →

Derek HarperMaurice Cheeks

Box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better · dashed marker means the player did not play

Derek Harper and Maurice Cheeks era-centered impact values by NBA season number
NBA season	Derek Harper	Maurice Cheeks
1	-1.3	0.9
2	2.0	2.6
3	2.9	3.6
4	4.2	4.3
5	3.0	3.9
6	3.3	2.4
7	4.2	2.8
8	3.2	3.3
9	1.6	3.1
10	1.4	2.9
11	-0.3	1.2
12	-0.5	1.7
13	-0.0	1.2
14	-0.7	1.0
15	-1.1	1.4
16	-1.0	Did not play

NBA season number

Similar career arcs

Players with careers similar to Derek Harper

The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.

PG · All-Time Career #100

Maurice Cheeks

career similarity score

93/100 closest-season score · 1989–90 ↔ 1985–86 PG · All-Time Career #255

Sam Cassell

career similarity score

91/100 closest-season score · 1989–90 ↔ 1997–98 PG · All-Time Career #257

Kenny Anderson

career similarity score

94/100 closest-season score · 1989–90 ↔ 1996–97

How to read this page

Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →