Bleacher Report’s Mo Dakhil made a pretty loud call on Dylan Harper: five years from now, he sees the Spurs guard as one of the five best MVP candidates in the league. And if that kind of leap actually happens, it would do a lot more than validate the hype around Harper. It would also put a big spotlight on San Antonio’s development plan and show the front office that adding him to that loaded backcourt was exactly the right move.
Harper’s start has already turned heads, but not everybody is fully sold on how his role has been handled in San Antonio. The questions picked up after the 2026 NBA Finals, when he played well but still had a fluctuating role that left some people feeling like he was being held back in a crowded guard group.
"... Everybody that's an NBA fan knows the kid is special", Brendan Haywood stated on the UnitedWeCast podcast with Ric Bucher a couple of months ago.
"You can't hold him back no more. You've got to take the training wheels off, and that convo has to start as soon as De'Aaron Fox gets back into town."
That debate is part of the story now, but it doesn’t change the bigger point: an eventual MVP-level run from Harper would make the Spurs look like they saw the whole picture from the beginning.
What stands out most about Harper’s game is how many different ways he can hurt a defense. He’s already shown he can handle multiple jobs within the same offense.
Next to De’Aaron Fox or Stephon Castle, he can work without the ball and still make an impact. When those guys are off the floor, he can slide right into the lead role and run the offense himself.
That kind of flexibility matters, and it’s one reason his future feels so bright. Mitch Johnson can use him in different ways right now, and Harper keeps showing that he can adjust without losing his edge. That’s the mark of a player who’s not just talented, but adaptable enough to grow into something even bigger.
Some people might look at his bench role and the back-and-forth between on-ball and off-ball responsibilities and see a problem. The argument here is the opposite. Those reps could be sharpening him, not slowing him down, and helping build the kind of offensive weapon that eventually becomes impossible to contain.
Not every path to MVP looks the same. Some stars arrive fast and become the face of the franchise almost immediately. Others take more time to build into that level of player.
Harper fits into that second group. His road won’t necessarily mirror someone like Cooper Flagg, but that doesn’t mean it can’t lead to the same place.
If he does grow into an MVP-caliber player, the Spurs will have every reason to feel vindicated for drafting him into that stacked backcourt. What looks unusual now could make perfect sense later.
In Other News...
Spurs Suddenly Have A Tobias Harris Question That Actually Matters
Tobias Harris landed in San Antonio on a two-year, $31 million deal in July, giving the Spurs another veteran forward to plug into a roster trying to make the most of its recent run to the NBA Finals. At 34, Harris arrives after two seasons with Detroit, where he remained a steady scoring and rebounding presence and posted averages of 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists last season.
The fit matters because the Spurs are no longer just collecting talent around Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox, they are trying to shape a rotation that can hold up in real games. Harris is expected to be part of that mix, and early offseason work has already started to show how the new pieces are being blended together, with the Spurs keeping a close eye on how a veteran like Harris meshes with familiar names and a group still figuring out its pecking order. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Rookie Fit Next To Wemby Suddenly Carries One Big Concern
Jayden Quaintance arrived with the kind of tools that can make Spurs fans dream about a long-term frontcourt pairing next to Victor Wembanyama. He is widely viewed as a promising defender with real athletic upside, and his profile makes sense for a team that always wants length, activity and switchability around its star. Even with the setbacks that have already followed him, the idea of what he could become in San Antonio is still easy to see.
The concern now is less about the fit and more about the timeline. Quaintance is expected to miss extended time this season because of knee injuries, which clouds when he can actually start building that case on the floor. And while the defensive potential is there, his offensive game remains a work in progress, so his eventual impact will depend not just on getting healthy, but on how much development he can show once he finally gets a run of consistent basketball. [Read more 🡒]
De'Aaron Fox Faces One Spurs Question That Could Change Everything
De'Aaron Fox arrives in San Antonio with the kind of reputation that can still shape a team's plans long after the headline move is over. The Spurs see him as part of their guard rotation and, for now, there is no expectation that they would move him during the season, especially with his contract situation and the reality that teams around the league are not exactly lining up to chase him right now.
The more interesting question is what happens if Fox looks more like himself again. A stronger stretch could change the way he is viewed, both inside the building and on the trade market, giving the Spurs a different kind of flexibility down the road. For now, the path is simple enough: keep him in place, let him settle in, and see whether his play starts creating options that do not exist today. [Read more 🡒]