Ronald "Ron" Harper (born January 20, 1964) is an American retired professional basketball player and five-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion. He played for four teams in the NBA between 1986 and 2001.

Ron Harper was born and grew up in Dayton, Ohio. Ron and his twin brother were the youngest of six children raised in a single-parent household by their mother, Gloretha Harper. She worked at several jobs to support the family, including as a school teacher and on an assembly line at a General Motors plant.

In high school, he first attended Belmont High School in Dayton, but was cut from the freshman team and didn't play as a sophomore. He later transferred to Kiser High School in Dayton and as a senior averaged 20.5 points, 13.4 rebounds, five assists, five steals and six blocked shots and was named first-team All-Ohio. He graduated from Kiser in 1982.

The Kiser High School facility is now an elementary school. In 2006, Harper attended a ceremony at which the school's gymnasium was named for him.

Harper starred at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for four seasons from 1982–83 through 1985–86.

As a freshman, Harper scored 12.8 points per game and led Miami in rebounding with 7.0 per game as the team went 13-15. As a sophomore, he led the Redhawks in scoring with 16.3 points per game and in rebounding with 7.6 per game as the Redhawks went 24-6 and won the Mid-American Conference championship, the MAC tournament championship, and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament.

In his junior season, he set personal bests and again led the team with 24.9 and 10.7 rebounds per game and also led in steals with 2.6 per game. He was named MAC Player of the Year as the Redhawks went 20-11, finished second in the MAC and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament.

In his senior season, on March 8, 1985, he set both a Miami and a MAC tournament single-game scoring record of 45 points in one game (as well as snaring 18 rebounds). His scoring average of 24.9 per game is second all-time at Miami behind Fred Foster's 26.8 in 1967–68. He again led the team in rebounding with 11.7 per game as well as assists (4.3) and steals (3.3). He also became the first MAC player in history to record a triple-double with 38 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists against Ball State University.

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