Dylan Harper is giving the Spurs exactly the kind of perimeter punch they’ve been waiting on.
In San Antonio’s home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Harper put together his best scoring night of the season, finishing with 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting. The part that matters most for the Spurs’ offense, though, was what happened from deep: he knocked down two of five three-point tries, another encouraging step for a team that needs its guards to keep defenses honest.
That wasn’t a one-off, either. Harper has been stringing together better long-range nights for a while now.
In the Spurs’ win over the Utah Jazz, he made two of four from beyond the arc. The game before that, against the Dallas Mavericks, he hit three of eight.
For a team trying to unlock its offensive ceiling, that kind of steady improvement from a guard is a big deal.
The Spurs’ backcourt trio of Harper, De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle has looked solid early, but the formula is clear: they all have to space the floor and make teams pay from outside. Catch-and-shoot threes are especially important because they let San Antonio take advantage of the attention its interior game creates.
Harper did that against Minnesota. Both of his threes came off the catch.
Late in the first quarter, Julian Champagnie tracked down an offensive rebound after a Devin Vassell miss and kicked it out to Harper, who buried a top-of-the-key jumper. Then, early in the fourth, Victor Wembanyama came up with the ball after a dunk attempt rolled off the rim and drew two Timberwolves defenders with him.
He found Harper at the left elbow, and the ball movement led to another open three.
That’s the kind of sequence San Antonio wants more of. Once the Spurs get into the paint, the defense has to collapse. When the ball then moves cleanly to the perimeter and the shots fall, the whole offense opens up.
Harper hasn’t been the only guard doing damage from outside. Fox is off to an efficient start, hitting 36.8% of his threes, and Castle already has four games with three or more makes from downtown. The Spurs’ best collective shooting night came against Dallas, when all three guards connected on at least two threes apiece.
So the pieces are there. After a rough opening stretch, the Spurs are starting to settle in, and Harper’s shooting has been a major part of that progress. The next step is making sure this isn’t just a hot week - it has to become a regular part of his game.
In Other News...
Wembanyama Opens Up About The Scare That Changed Everything
Victor Wembanyamas early-2025 blood clot scare did more than end his 2024-25 season with the Spurs ahead of schedule. It also forced a reset in how he sees himself, both as a player and as a person, and he has been open about the way the health issue changed his outlook on life and basketball.
For San Antonio, the most striking part is how that experience appears to have carried over into his day-to-day presence with the team. Wembanyama says he has become more expressive and emotionally engaged, and he has linked the ordeal to both personal growth and better play, a reminder that the biggest developments around a young star are not always measured in points or blocks. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Brought A Wild Halloween Look To Wolves Night
Victor Wembanyama turned the pregame scene into part costume party, part pop-culture nod before the Spurs took on the Timberwolves, showing up dressed as Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher. It fit neatly with his well-known interest in fantasy literature, and it also continued a Halloween tradition that has become a little annual subplot around the Spurs, with other players joining in on the fun.
For San Antonio, the timing added a bit of extra color to a night that came with some momentum after a recent winning streak. Wembanyamas third Halloween-themed NBA arrival was less about the game itself than the personality around it, the kind of detail that makes a young star feel larger than the box score before the opening tip. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Have A Delicate Balance As Wembanyama And Fox Roll
While Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox have helped keep San Antonio moving in the right direction, the Spurs are still managing the health side of the ledger carefully. Head coach Mitch Johnson said the team is taking a methodical, patient approach with Harris as he works back from a calf strain, a reminder that the early part of the season is about more than just the standings for a team trying to build something sustainable.
Wembanyama is still producing at a career-best scoring pace even while dealing with shooting struggles, and Fox continues to look like a steadying force at point guard after turning in a strong all-around line with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Stephon Castle also showed his toughness by playing through a migraine in a recent game, which speaks to the competitive edge inside the locker room, but the Spurs know the bigger picture depends on keeping the rotation intact and getting everyone back to full strength at the right time. [Read more 🡒]