Dylan Harper isn’t tiptoeing around the biggest names in basketball. The San Antonio Spurs guard was asked where his ceiling could go, and he didn’t duck the Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant comparison game.
“Feel like everything you named, plus a lot of championships,” Harper answered. “Definitely.
If you don't have that belief in yourself, you don't carry that confidence in yourself; no one else is going to believe you. I feel like the dreams and aspirations I have are far-fetched, but I know the work I put in.”
That kind of self-assurance tracks with the season Harper just put together. In his first NBA campaign, the Rutgers alum earned All-Rookie First Team honors and gave the Spurs plenty to like as he settled into the league. He finished the regular season averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists, then stepped it up in the playoffs with 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Harper’s emergence matters because San Antonio sees him as part of a core that includes Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. The early returns suggested he belongs in that conversation.
Even with the attention growing around him, Harper says the spotlight won’t pull him off course. He recently landed his first solo SLAM Magazine cover, and while the added fame is hard to ignore, his focus stays on getting better.
Heading into his second NBA season, Harper says leadership is one of the biggest areas he wants to sharpen. He also wants to improve his communication, his grasp of the Spurs’ system, his shooting, his basketball IQ and his defense.
What is Dylan Harper's ceiling? Could he be the next MJ? Kobe? Dylan says absolutely. pic.twitter.com/CPPA89UXR2
— Don Harris (@DonHarris4) October 5, 2026
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 🡒]