We didn’t need The Last Dance to know that one of the founding events in the rise of Michael Jordanit’s the famous “Shot” over Craig Ehlo in game 5 of the 1st round of the NBA playoffs. Ehlo is celebrating its 61st birthday today. But in episode 3 of the documentary series, we discover a Ron Harperthen a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, particularly embittered than his coach Lenny Wilkens didn’t let him defend on Jordan.
MJ himself adds that having designated Ehlo on this sequence was a mistake because Ron Harper was the one who defended the best on him. This small passage caused some turmoil among the elders of this Cleveland team.
Craig Ehlo, the main interested party, did not appreciate hearing his former teammate put himself forward so much. He explained this in an interview with Cleveland.com.
“I never claimed to be a ‘Jordan stopper’ like Gerald Wilkins. But back then when Ron Harper and I were on the court at the same time, he was our best offensive weapon. So it made sense to me. to defend on Michael Jordan while he was breathing a little.
He never really talked about defending on guys and stuff. Ron wasn’t a bad defender, I can give him that. But I think all those years in Chicago, where he won titles in a 3rd or 4th man role, apparently it turned him into an elite defenseman…
I don’t really remember hearing him say he wanted to defend that much at the time, so it shocked me to hear that he wanted to defend on Michael.”
Craig Ehlo claims, moreover, that no one on the team heard Ron Harper ask Lenny Wilkens to take care of Michael Jordan…
“If we had heard him say that, I think that “Hot Rod” Williams (RIP) would have said something to him because he was not one to keep quiet. Even today, when he’s in heaven, I can imagine him saying something to Ron.
Larry Nance would have said something. Brad Daugherty would have shrugged and Mark Price was a silent assassin, so he would have been like me today, which is to say shocked”.
Five after this cult shoot and this defeat, Ron Harper joined the Chicago Bulls and won the 1996, 1997 and 1998 NBA titles. He also had an adventure with the Los Angeles Lakers of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, in adding two rings to his list in 2000 and 2001.
