Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle have already taken their first swing at the NBA’s biggest stage, and the Spurs guards came away from that Finals trip with a clearer sense of what it takes to keep climbing.
In a conversation with Cam Wolf of GQ, the future San Antonio backcourt talked through the team’s run against the New York Knicks, their experience at Madison Square Garden, and why they believe this Spurs group is built differently from the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Garden left a mark on both of them, mostly because of the people they saw wearing the other side’s colors. Harper said he spotted Michael Rainey Jr., one of his favorite actors from Power, after Rainey had flown to San Antonio for the game and spent the series openly backing the Knicks.
“Like, the whole series, he posting Knicks, Knicks, Knicks,” Harper recalls. “I damn near blocked him at one point.”
Harper also said he tried the same trick of ignoring Jay-Z before the rapper started chirping from the crowd.
“Come on!” Jay-Z yelled. Then, as though he cast some magic on the visiting team, Jay lifted his hands to create a Roc-A-Fella diamond in the air.
“We started losing,” Harper recalled. “S-t went downhill from there.”
That Finals loss came against a Knicks group Harper described as “four best friends,” with three of them having played together in college. Castle said that kind of chemistry matters, and Harper agreed.
“We lost to f-king four best friends,” Harper said.
“I think being friends off the court makes you better.” Harper agrees, adding, “It makes everything flow better.”
The pair also drew a comparison to the 2012 Thunder, a team loaded with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden but one that never quite delivered on its promise. Castle didn’t hesitate when Wolf asked why this Spurs core might be different.
“Because we don’t have no egos. They had strong egos in that locker room. Strong a- egos,” Stephon Castle said about the star-studded 2012 Thunder squad.
Harper pointed to the balance on San Antonio’s roster.
“That’s why we’re so good,” Dylan Harper added. “We’ve got eight people on the team that, if we all had an ego, we wouldn’t blend together.”
On the floor, both young guards had solid first Finals runs, even if neither one called them finished products. Castle averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while shooting 37.7% from the field and 30.0% from three.
Harper put up 18.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 49.3% shooting overall and 28.0% from deep. For Castle, a sophomore, and Harper, a rookie, it was their first trip to the Finals in less than two years.
The memory that stuck with Harper most was OG Anunoby’s tip-in in Game 3, the play that finished off a 29-point comeback.
“That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard an arena,” Dylan Harper added.
Castle said the atmosphere in the opener didn’t match the buildup.
“It was underwhelming in that first game,” Castle said. “They made it seem like it was going to be way crazier in there.”
The two also made clear they were ready to put the loss behind them. Harper said he was over it, then asked Castle if he felt the same. Later, when asked whether anything from the series still lingered, Harper pulled out his phone to show the clip of Anunoby’s tip-in.
“That s-t is hilarious,” Harper says, reacting to the clip.
“No,” Castle says, turning away, “I don’t be watching that s-t, bro.”
“I got to watch it, bro. It happened,” Harper responded.
Harper said getting back to work helped him move on.
“It helps me work out harder,” Harper added, explaining that returning to his offseason routine made it easier to shake off the disappointment. He said it took several weeks to fully get past the loss, but the routine helped.
Still, he made it clear the experience changed how he sees the road ahead.
“I don’t think it’s like, ‘Oh s-t, we made it there, it’s easy,’” Harper further explained, emphasizing that reaching the Finals showed them how difficult the journey actually is. “It’s more that we understand what goes into [making] it. Now, we got to do it,” he adds.
When Wolf asked how many Finals appearances they could see over the next five years, Harper didn’t hesitate.
“Hopefully five,” Harper concludes. “I mean, that’s the goal.”
Castle finished the thought with one more line that sounded like the start of a promise.
“We finna go back.”
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