Victor Wembanyama will take the spotlight after San Antonio’s latest demolition job on Phoenix, and that makes sense. He keeps stacking absurd numbers in barely any playing time. But Dylan Harper carved out his own place in the night, too, and he did it by joining a tiny club that includes Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
Harper became the third player in NBA history under 6'10" to reach 1,000 points and 300 assists while shooting better than 50% through his first 80 career games. That’s rare company for any player, and it fits the way he’s been scoring lately: efficiently, aggressively, and with a confidence that never seems to blink.
The young “Slash Bros” have made a habit of bringing that edge with them. Harper and Stephon Castle both have a flair for the dramatic after tough finishes at the rim, the kind of reactions that say the defender has personally offended them. Castle can stare a man down into the ground, and Harper has his own version of that same fire.
In Phoenix, that competitive streak showed up most clearly in the third quarter. The Suns may not have done anything in particular to invite it, but Harper doesn’t need much of a reason. Spurs fans, clearly, are fine with that.
What makes Harper so difficult to deal with is that the attitude comes with real production. He entered the game leading the league in restricted-area shooting percentage, and he kept attacking the interior against Phoenix with the same relentless approach. He plays like a guy with a pitbull buried somewhere deep inside him, and it comes out whether he’s been provoked or not.
Maybe it’s contact like the kind Jonathan Kuminga gave him in the Timberwolves game. Maybe it’s trash talk.
Maybe he simply decides he doesn’t like how he’s playing. Whatever flips the switch, the result is usually the same for the other team.
Against the Suns, Harper finished with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting, five rebounds and four assists. He went 7-for-8 inside the arc and was perfect on his five paint attempts. Fourteen of those points came in the third quarter, and that burst helped push San Antonio to a 25-point lead before the fourth even started.
That kind of edge matters because it’s not empty noise. Plenty of players can jaw and bump and posture.
Far fewer can do that while also handing out buckets. Harper gives defenses both problems at once, and that’s what makes him so hard to live with.
Phoenix found that out the hard way. Devin Booker scored 32, but it barely dented the night.
Wembanyama was too much. Harper was too much.
The Spurs were too much. San Antonio rolled in with a pack of dogs, and Phoenix got run over.
In Other News...
Spurs Blowouts Are Hiding Just How Far Wembanyama Could Go
Victor Wembanyama keeps flashing the kind of ceiling that makes it easy to forget how early this still is for him. Even with the Spurs rolling through a string of lopsided wins, he has still stacked up eye-catching production on a per-minute basis, including stretches that hint at a far bigger statistical load if the games stayed competitive longer.
The blowouts have also meant San Antonio has not needed to lean on him for full workloads, which is part of why his raw totals still feel like a preview rather than the finished product. When he has been on the floor, the numbers have been loud enough to turn heads, and the real question now is how much more there is once the Spurs start asking him to carry those minutes in tighter games. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Is Making The Spurs Look Like A Real Problem
The Spurs are starting to look less like a nice early-season story and more like a team opponents have to plan around. San Antonio stretched its winning streak to nine games with a 122-96 road win over Phoenix, and Victor Wembanyama was the center of everything, piling up 40 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots while controlling the game at both ends.
Phoenix had Devin Booker in attack mode with 32 points, but the Suns never found enough help or enough answers around the basket. For San Antonio, the bigger takeaway is how complete this run has become, with Wembanyama anchoring a team that is winning away from home and making the rest of the West take notice. [Read more 🡒]
Wembanyama Just Gave Spurs Fans Another Reason To Believe
Victor Wembanyama keeps giving the Spurs reasons to think this fast start is more than a hot stretch. On Nov. 9, San Antonio rolled past Phoenix 122-96 to run its winning streak to eight games, and the rookie center was at the center of it again, pouring in 40 points on 15-of-19 shooting while adding 11 rebounds. The Spurs controlled the glass and the paint, pairing Wembanyamas efficiency with a defensive edge that has become part of their identity during this surge.
Devin Bookers 32 points kept the Suns from disappearing entirely, but Phoenix never matched San Antonios energy or physicality and dropped to 3-6. For the Spurs, the bigger picture is hard to ignore: they are 9-2 and winning in ways that suggest this start is built on more than one standout night. The next question is how long this can last once the schedule tightens and the league keeps adjusting to Wembanyamas presence. [Read more 🡒]