A three-time first-team All-ACC pick at Georgia Tech — a feat matched only by Mark Price — Harpring had his jersey retired and earned Academic All-America honors before Orlando drafted him 15th in 1998. Injuries chased him through three teams until he signed with the Jazz in 2002 and played the best ball of his life: 17.6 points a game beside Malone and Stockton, runner-up for Most Improved Player, then team captain after the two legends departed.
Ankle surgery and a post-surgical infection ended his playing days in 2009, but Utah never really lost him. Since 2010 Harpring has been the color analyst on Jazz telecasts alongside Craig Bolerjack, deploying a dry humor he admits he suppressed as a player.
HOW HE CAME & WENTHe signed as a free agent in August 2002 and found the ideal home — a hard, physical player in a motion offense — staying seven seasons. Chronic knee and ankle trouble ended it: he never reported for 2009-10, saying his body could no longer withstand NBA games, and his contract was traded to Oklahoma City that December.
No photograph of this signature is online yet.
| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | UTA | 78 | 32.8 | 17.6 | 6.6 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | .511 | .413 | .792 |
| 2003–04 | UTA | 31 | 36.6 | 16.2 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | .471 | .242 | .688 |
| 2004–05 | UTA | 78 | 33.1 | 14.0 | 6.2 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | .489 | .209 | .778 |
| 2005–06 | UTA | 71 | 27.4 | 12.5 | 5.2 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | .475 | .359 | .725 |
| 2006–07 | UTA | 77 | 25.5 | 11.6 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | .491 | .333 | .767 |
| 2007–08 | UTA | 76 | 18.1 | 8.2 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | .500 | .200 | .712 |
| 2008–09 | UTA | 63 | 11.0 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | .461 | .000 | .764 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 7 SEASONS | 474 | 25.8 | 11.9 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | .490 | .344 | .752 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗