Dylan Harper’s rise is already forcing the Spurs to think bigger.
San Antonio has built its core the hard way, or at least the way front offices dream about: through the draft. Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper give the Spurs three straight top-five picks, and all three have already looked the part.
Wembanyama is the headliner, an MVP candidate. Castle has been better than Harper for now.
But that gap may not last long.
Harper’s rookie season gave plenty of reasons to believe a bigger breakout is coming. He isn’t quite the defender Castle is, but offensively he brings more to the table.
He shot 34.3 percent from 3-point range in the regular season and 33.3 percent in the postseason, but the late-season stretch is what really stood out. Over the final 20 games of the regular season, Harper knocked down 53.6 percent of his attempts, a sharp sign that his shot can really take off.
That is why the Spurs are expected to hand him more responsibility in his second season.
Bleacher Report’s Mo Dakhil laid out the path clearly: "This coming season, Harper should receive a larger role from the Spurs despite De'Aaron Fox playing in front of him," predicted Bleacher Report's Mo Dakhil. "Coach Mitch Johnson has the luxury of pairing him with Fox or Stephon Castle-at times, playing all three together.
Harper may still come off the bench, but there are more minutes out there for him, especially if he can become a more consistent shooter like he was at the end of the regular season. Harper came into his rookie season not playing like a rookie, and after the run he had in the Finals, expect him to make a major leap next season that goes beyond just a rookie into his sophomore season."
The key for Harper is simple: keep the shot falling, and the minutes should follow. If that happens, he could become much more than just another young piece in San Antonio’s stacked backcourt.
Castle has All-Star and All-Defensive potential, while Wembanyama is already among the NBA’s best. Harper, though, may be headed somewhere in between - and if everything breaks right, maybe even closer to Wembanyama than to Castle.
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Victor Wembanyama Just Landed A New Spurs Role
Victor Wembanyama is heading into the upcoming season with a different kind of responsibility in San Antonio. Along with the pressure that comes with his own rise, he is expected to help guide the Spurs new frontcourt additions and set the tone for a young group that will be leaning on him for more than just production on the floor.
For Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr., that means a chance to learn behind a player who has already established himself as the centerpiece of the teams future. Wembanyamas influence could shape not only how the rookies develop, but also how quickly they adjust to the demands and mentality the Spurs want in their rotation. [Read more 🡒]
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The buzz gets especially interesting because one speculative framework has Curry landing in San Antonio in a deal built around Dylan Harper, DeAaron Fox and future draft capital. It is still firmly in the realm of analysis, not anything close to a real transaction, but it is the sort of proposal that forces you to think about where the Spurs want to press their timeline and what they would be willing to move to do it. Even as the scenario remains hypothetical, it feels like the rare kind of star rumor that fits San Antonios broader rise well enough to keep watching. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Harper Just Changed The Spurs Debate Around DeAaron Fox
Dylan Harper has spent his first year around a Spurs team trying to sort out both its present and its backcourt future, and he does not sound interested in turning De'Aaron Fox into a roster problem. Harper pointed to Fox as a meaningful part of San Antonios success now and down the road, a notable endorsement in a season where the guard rotation and Foxs contract have both been part of the conversation.
Harper also made clear that the fit questions others might raise are not his concern. He said playing alongside multiple ball-handlers has never bothered him, which only adds another layer to a Spurs guard situation that already has plenty of moving pieces. Foxs role in Harpers development is part of that story, and it leaves San Antonio with a familiar kind of good problem as it weighs how to keep this group together. [Read more 🡒]