Being Michael Jordan’s teammate was a demanding job. It took even more adjusting for a veteran who had already amassed 10,000 points before donning the Chicago Bulls jersey. But the goal was clear, and the learnings from that stint remain even more memorable.

“No days off,” Ron Harper candidly recalled on the latest episode of Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady. “No days off. When you walk in that gym, lace them up like it’s game day. That’s why I tell people all the time that the Chicago team’s work is extremely crazy. The game was easy. Every drill you do was game speed.”

Ron Harper joined the Bulls in 1994 after Chicago had witnessed the first three-peat with Michael Jordan leading the team. MJ already had 7 scoring championships to his name. So, Harper knew his role with the new team wouldn’t be the same. Before joining the Bulls, Hollywood would average closer to 20 points per game, but the new setting demanded a critical adjustment.

The criticism came from his close friends. “My friends are like, ‘Yo, you used to average 18 to 24 and blah blah blah, and you averaging eight points a ball game,'” explained Harper. “‘I said, ‘Yeah, but I’m 42 and five. I’mma I’mma be playing until June. I’m good. Like, like everybody wants to score points. Like I scored 10,000 my first eight years in the NBA. Yeah. I don’t need to score anymore. I’m trying to win.”

From 1994 to 1998, he never averaged double figures in points per game. In fact, Harper’s total points per season averaged more than 600 points just once. It was not due to a lack of minutes, as he averaged 24.4 points during that stint. It was an intentional role change which some might not have appreciated, but Michael Jordan and co did.

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Previously, Ron revealed that type of acknowledgement made him feel that he didn’t sacrifice his game for nothing. “It was really good to play with guys who would give you a pat and say you played a great game,” Harper said to Sportsnet in 2017.

Ron Harper was ready to sacrifice for Michael Jordan and the team

When Harper joined the team, Michael Jordan had retired. But when MJ came back, it pushed Ron to the back of the rotation. In the last 25 games of the regular season, he played in only 12.3 minutes per game and averaged 1.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He had no problem admitting that “My first year in Chicago, I had a hard time there,” to Slam in 2012.

Harper knew a meeting with coach Phil Jackson was needed. “The thing was, I was still able to be a smart guy who knew how to be a part of a team,” he said. Ron convinced the Zen Master, “If you trust me, I can play point guard. I can play defense. I can get us in all our plays.’” The pitch also included a self-assessment that he won’t get more than 5 shots, which Harper was okay with.

Since the starting point guard, B.J. Armstrong, was no longer with the Bulls after the Toronto Raptors drafted him in the expansion draft, Harper knew that’s how he would carve a place. And it worked in his favor. It was not only for the Bulls that Jackson trusted Harper as a PG. Even with the Lakers alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, Ron found his place. That’s why in the history books, he has five championships to his name.