Ron Harper Jr. on trying to make his own way in NBA with Celtics with a famous last name

Having a famous father who has played in the NBA can be a double-edged sword for players in the league trying to make their own way as a professional basketball player. On one hand, it gets a foot in the door other players simply do not have access to, and not just in terms of name recognition. It also comes with the knowledge they accumulated in their careers having been shared with that player in many cases, and the financial security some prospects can't afford to ignore.

But it can mean playing in the shadow of a famous parent and their legacy as well -- and can be compounded further by having siblings working to make their own way in the Association. Such is the case for Boston Celtics guard Ron Harper Jr. , who played his way into a regular season deal with Boston last season.

The Rutgers alum opened up about this sort of dynamic in a recent interview with Richard Jefferson, speaking about the pros and cons of playing with his famous last name. "Whenever it's anytime basketball, somebody always knows my father," he explained. "No matter where I am, what city.

" "And if I'm in Chicago, from (Los Angeles) or anything, it's a lot of love, because he won championships there," said Harper. "The worst part is growing up with it, for sure. " "Growing up with the expectation, everybody expects you to be like your dad, be as good as him and I was kind of a late bloomer, so I wasn't as good.