Derek Harper’s pride was on the line. Engaged in a battle he should have easily won, the 14-year NBA veteran found himself on the verge of defeat.
Harper was playing H-O-R-S-E, not against teammate Michael Finley or Dallas Mavericks’ head coach Jim Cleamons, but against 12-year-old neighborhood resident John Sabine.
Knowing that in a few short hours he would be guarding Utah Jazz All-Star John Stockton, Harper’s thoughts may have been elsewhere. But a veteran knows never to look past an opponent.
“He gave me all I could handle,” Harper says. “I knew if he won that he’d go back to school and tell everyone. I didn’t want to be embarrassed, so I had to put him away at the end.”
Sabine, a sixth-grader at St. Patrick’s Catholic School, was the beneficiary of a prize the Mavericks donated to the St. Patrick’s charity auction. The package included the H-O-R-S-E game with Harper, a visit to the Mavericks’ pre-game practice and courtside seats to the game that night against the Utah Jazz.
“They were the best seats I ever had,” Sabine says.
Despite the loss, Sabine was quick to praise Harper. He knew going into the H-O-R-S-E match that he was over-matched, a fact that failed to deter the wide-eyed amateur.
“He was real nice and hospitable,” Sabine says. “It was so much fun. It was the chance of a lifetime.”
Harper expressed equal admiration for Sabine.
“It was one of the best times of my life,” Harper says. “He was a good kid and really eager to win.”
