The San Antonio Spurs already have a lot cooking, but Dylan Harper might be the ingredient that changes everything.
That’s the idea here: a young team that isn’t stuck waiting for a total overhaul, but instead can get meaningfully better because its best pieces are still growing. Harper sits at the center of that. He has the kind of upside that can tilt a roster, and San Antonio is clearly counting on him to take a real step this season.
What makes Harper such a valuable swing piece is how much room he still has to climb. He has already shown a strong feel for getting to the rim, and his blend of strength and craft makes him a dangerous finisher.
The next hurdle is bigger. To become the kind of player San Antonio is banking on, he has to prove he can shoot while also creating for others.
The Spurs will need to give him the runway to do it. Harper averaged 22.6 minutes per game last season, and that number needs to rise if he’s going to make the leap they want.
He may not start, but a workload in the 28.5 to 30 minute range would make sense. On a per-36 basis from last season’s regular season and playoffs, that kind of role could put him around 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.
Numbers like that would put him in the mix for Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player.
Just as important, a bigger Harper role would give San Antonio’s second unit a real punch. The Spurs already have two All-Stars and a rising star in the starting group, but the bench is where they could create separation.
That reserve group, especially in the playoffs, largely fell flat. If Harper is joined by Stephon Castle taking on a bigger role, along with Keldon Johnson, Luke Kornet, and possibly Tobias Harris, that group suddenly looks a lot more dangerous.
The comparisons to Manu Ginobili are hard to avoid, and in this case they make sense. Harper can have the same kind of impact off the bench that Ginobili once did for San Antonio.
The difference is that Harper is still ascending. Ginobili was already in his 30s when he helped the Spurs win championships in 2007 and 2014.
Harper is still building toward his peak.
That growth will likely include more playmaking than he was asked to handle as a rookie. He was mostly used as a scorer, and that part of his game is already in place. The passing piece is the next test.
There is reason for optimism on the shooting front, too. Over his final 30 regular-season games, Harper hit 46.8% of his threes on 2.5 attempts per game. If that becomes something close to an above-average shot, his star path gets a lot clearer.
San Antonio came close enough last season that a modest jump could matter a lot. If Harper makes the kind of leap the Spurs are hoping for, his expanded role could be enough to push them over the top.
In Other News...
Spurs Rotation Shift Could Cost Julian Champagnie A Bigger Role
The Spurs frontcourt picture got a little clearer this summer with the addition of Tobias Harris, and that has naturally started to reshape the rotation around him. Harris is expected to handle the starting power forward spot once healthy, which gives San Antonio a veteran presence at a position it had to address, while also putting Julian Champagnie in a spot where his role could shift depending on how the roster settles in around the new arrival.
Champagnie is still positioned to open the season in the starting five because Harris is dealing with an injury, but the long view is less certain. His place in the lineup may not last once Harris is available, and for now the more interesting part is how he handles the change after showing an acceptance of whatever role the Spurs ask of him as they sort out the minutes. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Suddenly Linked To A De'Aaron Fox Move That Changes Everything
The Spurs have spent this stretch leaning into their young core, with guards Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle drawing a lot of attention as the organization keeps shaping its backcourt around Victor Wembanyama. Harper in particular has flashed enough to fuel the kind of optimism that usually comes with a premium draft pick, and the teams long-term picture appears to be getting clearer by the week as San Antonio continues to prioritize development over short-term fixes.
Thats where the DeAaron Fox conversation starts to get interesting, because the Spurs have more to sort through than just playing time at guard. If Harper is going to be part of the front line moving forward, Fox becomes the name that could alter the rotation and the roster balance in a hurry, with one scenario even sending him to Houston. For a team still defining its next version, the decision could say plenty about how quickly San Antonio wants to accelerate the timeline around Wembanyama and the young guards beside him. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Wembanyama Is Entering The Season With Massive MVP Pressure
Victor Wembanyama is walking into the season with a different kind of spotlight, and it is not hard to see why. NBCSports.coms analysts all pointed to the Spurs star as the early favorite for the NBAs Most Valuable Player award, leaning on what he already showed at an MVP level last season and the sense that there is still more room for him to grow. For San Antonio, that kind of recognition is a sign of how far the franchise has come in a short time, with Wembanyama no longer viewed as a future candidate so much as the standard everyone else is chasing.
The race will still have familiar heavyweights around it, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo all part of the conversation. But the real weight on Wembanyama is clear: this is the sort of projection that depends on him staying on the floor and the Spurs looking like one of the Wests best teams. For a player this young, the expectation is already enormous, and the season ahead could turn that buzz into something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]