Justin Harper doesn't merely accept the label of a journeyman. He views it as a positive.
Signed by the Sixers to a 10-day contract Friday, Harper has literally traveled the globe to play basketball professionally. Since graduating from Richmond in 2011, the 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward has been a member of teams based in France, Orlando, Idaho, Israel, Italy, Los Angeles, Detroit, back to L.A. and, finally, Philadelphia.
So while a lot of athletes might look at a 10-day contract as the biggest audition of their lives and feel immense pressure to perform, the Sixers are simply the next opportunity for Harper to continue his career.
"I learned to embrace the journey," Harper said prior to his Sixers debut. "I've played D-League, overseas, NBA, so it's nothing new to me, but I take pride in that. I feel like journeymen have the best stories and it's provided me with some great experiences."
Which is not to suggest Harper hopes to remain a journeyman forever. This is a very important tryout for the 27-year-old, who hopes to stick with the Sixers after his 10 days are up.
He got his feet wet in his first game with the team. Harper appeared in the second half of Friday's 105-102 win over the Knicks (see Instant Replay). He played four minutes with one rebound, one turnover and missed his only shot attempt -- a three-pointer.
"It's a nice, young team," Harper said. "A lot of big-time young pieces, a couple injuries here and there, but starting to put it together as a franchise, and I would love to be a part of that, of course.
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"Just a great coaching staff and a great program, so any and everything I can do to help, I'm trying to do."
There absolutely could be a place for Harper on this Sixers' roster, too, at least for the remainder of the season. When Ersan Ilyasova was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, it created a void at power forward. Moving Ilyasova means an increase in minutes for impressive rookie Dario Saric, but leaves Sixers coach Brett Brown few good options coming off the bench.
"There's a big gap where Ersan left," Brown said.
"From a symmetry perspective and a balance perspective, how you sub it, [Harper] was brought in for that reason as much as anything. Then you add in the fact that I think he is an interesting prospect at that stretch-four spot."
A second-round draft pick (No. 32 overall) by the Magic in 2011, Harper has been honing his game in the NBA Developmental League for the past two seasons. The two-time D-League All-Star averaged 15.8 points and 6.3 rebounds with the Los Angeles D-Fenders while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 39.6 percent from three-point range.
Harper admits he prides himself on his versatility on the hardwood and recognizes the need for that skill set on the Sixers and in the NBA in general.
"I'm coming at this trying to visualize how I can help the team, and being able to stretch the floor at the power forward position is growing more and more important in the league now," Harper said. "I see myself being able to take that role for whatever team would choose me, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to showcase that."
To this point, Harper's perseverance hasn't manifested in NBA minutes. He was waived by the Magic just 14 games into his rookie season and failed to catch on with the Detroit Pistons after signing a 10-day in 2016.
Despite averaging only 6.3 minutes in 19 career games prior to Friday, Harper appreciates every chance he gets to prove himself.
"You just have to make the most out of it," Harper said. "I played in the D-League for the same team last year and got called up to play for the Pistons. It wasn't able to work out there, but it was another prime opportunity to show that I can help a team, and I thought that I played pretty well."
It's all part of Harper's journey, which now brings him to the Sixers, where he'll have a legitimate shot at carving out a role, maybe even hang around for a while.
Either way, it's unlikely to affect Harper's positive demeanor. He may not be an NBA All-Star, but Harper says the best part about all of this basketball stuff has been the life experience.
"Finding myself, and growing as a player and a person," Harper said. "You learn a lot about yourself when you're overseas for seven or eight months for two or three consecutive years."