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Derek Harper

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Basketball Player

The Resume

    (October 13, 1961- )
    Born in Elberton, Georgia
    Point guard for the Dallas Mavericks (1983-94,1996-97), New York Knicks (1994-96), Orlando Magic (1997-98), and Los Angeles Lakers (1999)
    Second-Team All-American at the University of Illinois (1983)
    Appeared in 'Space Jam' (1996)
    Nicknamed 'The Jazz'

Why he might be annoying:

    He dribbled out the clock during Game 4 of the 1984 Western Conference semifinals against the Lakers when it was tied - costing the Mavs the game in overtime, and ultimately the series.
    The dribble gaffe has widely become known as one of the 'biggest single mistakes of the NBA season.'
    He received a two-game suspension for sparking a brawl during a Bulls-Knicks game by getting into a fist fight with Jo Jo English, carried out directly in front of NBA commissioner David Stern (1994).
    He opted to end his 16-year NBA career rather than report to be traded by the Lakers to the Detroit Pistons.
    When asked if he considered other trade offers as opposed to retiring, he said: 'There was a Utah deal, but you go live in Utah. Nothing against Utah or their team, but I don't want to live there.'
    The admission (predictably) didn't sit well with some, including Karl Malone who criticized him for it later during a SportsCenter interview.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His daughter was a contestant on The Voice.
    He was elected to the Fighting Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team (2004).
    He is the all-time assists leader (5,111) and steals leader (1,551) in Dallas Mavericks history, as of 2017.
    He shares the NBA Finals single-series record for most three-point field goals made - 17 (in the 1994 Knicks vs. Houston game).
    He was close friends with the late Anthony Mason, telling Bleacher Report after learning of his death 'he made a lot of bigger guys look small.'
    He overcame the stigma of the 1984 dribbling incident, scoring a career-high 35 points during the 1988 Western Conference, helping the Mavericks to beat the Lakers, this time 118-104.
    Mark Cuban had to go and get everybody's hopes up by announcing that his Jersey number was set to be retired, and then inexplicably backtracked to say that it wouldn't be after all.
    He would have joined Rolando Blackman (22) and Brad Davis (15) as the only retired Mavericks’ jerseys.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 83 Votes: 30.12% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying