Ron Harper Jr.’s late-season surge in Boston has people inside the Celtics organization drawing a straight line to Sam Hauser’s rise—while Harper Jr. himself capped the 2025-26 campaign with 27 points in Boston’s 56th win over the Orlando Magic.
For Ron Harper Jr., the turning point didn’t arrive with a speech or a spotlight—it arrived with a run of games that kept coming, and a new version of him that the Celtics started trusting more and more.
Harper Jr. capped the 2025-26 campaign with a career night in Boston’s 56th win. Just days after signing a two-year contract to remain in Boston, he poured in 27 points to help the undermanned Celtics beat the Orlando Magic.
That kind of finish makes people look back at how the season actually unfolded. Harper Jr.’s emergence happened quickly. and it happened while Boston was giving him real windows to prove he could belong. He made 22 of his 29 appearances within the last 31-game stretch of the season—an especially meaningful number for anyone trying to turn “opportunity” into “role.”.
Within the Celtics organization, the belief isn’t shy. When asked about Harper Jr. in a recent mailbag, The Athletic’s Jay King pointed to the way people inside the team talk about him.
“People inside the organization really seem to believe in Harper — and I would have said that even before [Joe] Mazzulla started the wing in Game 7. ” King wrote when prompted on Harper Jr. in his recent mailbag. “The way people with the Celtics discuss Harper reminds me of the way they spoke about Sam Hauser before Hauser emerged as a valuable contributor.”.
It’s not just praise—it’s a comparison that carries weight in a league where chances can be fleeting. King said Hauser’s path to playing time looks similar to what Harper Jr. is on right now.
Hauser joined the Celtics on a two-way contract in August of 2021. In his first season, he hardly saw the floor, appearing in just 26 games and averaging 6.1 minutes per appearance. In year two, his role grew, and it kept growing. This past season. Hauser started 49 of his 78 appearances for the Celtics. averaging career highs in both points and rebounds per game.
King framed it this way: “Everyone seemed to see Hauser’s rise coming,” he wrote. “Even before he proved it under the bright lights, the organization realized he could play. Harper draws similar reviews. He might only need a bigger chance, but it’s not clear if or when that will arrive.”
Harper Jr. is following a similar development curve in terms of timing, even if the details differ. In his first full year in Boston, he played three more games than Hauser did in his rookie year. Harper Jr. has had three prior years of experience—two with the Toronto Raptors and last year with the Detroit Pistons—but he’s still just a year older than Hauser was in his rookie season.
That age gap matters because it keeps the story from being just about one hot stretch. Even with the momentum, there’s work to do before he becomes an everyday rotation player.
But the Celtics aren’t treating this like a fluke. Harper Jr. returned to Boston on a two-way contract last fall after his stint with the Detroit Pistons last year. This is the kind of path that rewards small proof points—something Harper Jr. seemed to understand from the start.
He took his opportunities in stride. and the moments around the edges of his film room work started showing up in games. His behind-the-scenes effort paid off when his number was called in different ways: his near double-double in his first career start. his chasedown block in Phoenix against the Suns. and the team’s decision to have him guard Victor Wembanyama in crunch time.
When asked about Harper Jr.’s emergence, head coach Mazzulla tied it to trust that gets built long before it shows up on the stat sheet.
“Trust doesn’t just come from what you do in the games,” Mazzulla said. “You know, it comes from what you do in workouts. It comes from what you do in the film session. It comes from what you in Maine. It comes what you do on an optional day. If you’re working one on one with your coach, like trust happens in so many ways.”.
The sequence coming out of Boston this season is simple: a late-season run, specific moments when the coaching staff chose to lean on him, and growing internal confidence that mirrors what preceded Sam Hauser’s breakout.
Next season, the question won’t be whether Harper Jr. can flash. It will be whether the Celtics decide he’s ready for the kind of bigger chance that would turn belief into a consistent role.
Ron Harper Jr. Boston Celtics Sam Hauser Joe Mazzulla two-way contract Orlando Magic Victor Wembanyama 2025-26 season NBA