The Spurs were set to try something new in their preseason opener against Atlanta on Thursday, and even though the lineup didn’t quite unfold the way Mitch Johnson planned, the message was clear: Dylan Harper is already pushing toward a bigger role.
Johnson had been ready to start Harper over Julian Champagnie, which would have put De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Harper on the floor together for the first time as a starting trio. Instead, Fox sat out for rest after feeling sore from Thursday morning’s practice, so Champagnie got the nod in his place.
Harper still made the night look like a preview of what’s coming. In his 2026 preseason debut, the rookie delivered 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, hit 3-of-5 from deep, added four rebounds, four assists without a turnover and one steal in 19 first-half minutes.
Johnson wasn’t ready to lock in the new look for good, but the expectation around the team is hard to miss. Jeff McDonald noted that it would be surprising if Harper isn’t part of the starting group, and the No. 2 overall pick from last year was introduced first before the game.
Harper, for his part, sounded convinced the fit can work. “ We’re going to be really hard to guard.
When me and Steph get downhill, Fox has the same ability,” Harper said. “ So, I mean, I think all three of us can be hard to guard, and there’s going to be a whole lot of mismatches on the floor and just playing with each other.
And we’re all unselfish, and we all understand where we’re going to get our shots from.
“ … We understand what we all have to do to win. So I mean, it’s going to be great.”
There was also praise in San Antonio for Devin Vassell, who drew strong words from both Johnson and Victor Wembanyama before the game. Johnson said, “ Devin’s in a place where we’ve kind of seen him mature from young player to young veteran, and he’s established himself as a veteran on this team in the way he played last year and through the playoffs and the way he’s held himself and conducted himself in the offseason and into camp,” Johnson said. “ He is a leader now without question.”
In Houston, Fred VanVleet looked sharp in his first game since May 2025. The veteran guard, back after missing all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL, helped the Rockets roll past Dallas, 135-117, in their preseason opener.
VanVleet finished with 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting, with all of his makes coming from three-point range, and dished seven assists in 24 minutes. Just as important, Houston’s offense appeared to hum with him steering the action as both a playmaker and spacer. Alperen Sengun took full advantage, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 22 minutes.
On the Mavericks side, P.J. Washington has been serving as a veteran guide for lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr., according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Sports Journal.
In Other News...
Spurs Bench Could Decide How Far This Playoff Push Goes
The Spurs have spent the early part of this season trying to make their bench look less like a gap to survive and more like an advantage to exploit. With Tobias Harris and Tarris Reed Jr. added to the mix, and familiar pieces like Keldon Johnson and Luke Kornet back in the fold, San Antonio has clearly tried to deepen the rotation around Victor Wembanyama. For a team with bigger ambitions, the minutes when Wembanyama sits have become a central measuring stick.
Dylan Harper is part of that equation, too, with the Spurs expecting him to shoulder a much larger offensive load as the second unit settles in. How quickly that group comes together may go a long way toward determining how far this playoff push can travel, because San Antonio does not need its bench to be perfect. It just needs the reserves to hold the line often enough, and maybe even tilt a few games, when the stars are off the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Are Finally Testing A Lineup That Could Define This Season
Mitch Johnson is using the preseason to take a first real look at a guard-heavy look that could shape the Spurs season, naming Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and DeAaron Fox as starters for an upcoming exhibition. Harper showed enough promise last season to make this feel like more than a routine early-October experiment, and San Antonio clearly wants to see how his game fits alongside two established guards who can handle the ball, push pace and create stress for defenses.
The focus now is less on results than on fit. The Spurs want to sort out spacing, ball movement and defensive balance with this trio on the floor, using these preseason minutes to build chemistry and learn how much they can ask of the combination. It is the kind of lineup question that can linger well beyond the exhibition schedule, because the answer could help define how San Antonio structures its backcourt rotation when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Face A Big Backcourt Decision Around Dylan Harpers Growth
Dylan Harpers second season could turn into one of the Spurs more interesting developmental forks, because the path to his growth is tied directly to how San Antonio sorts out its backcourt responsibilities. The idea is straightforward enough: if Harper is going to keep expanding as an offensive threat, the Spurs may need to let him spend more time as the primary initiator, where he can learn to run the show instead of simply fitting into it.
That is where Stephon Castle comes in, since the conversation around the roster has increasingly centered on whether he is better used in a secondary playmaking role or as more of an off-ball presence. For San Antonio, the appeal is obvious. Getting both guards into the spots that suit them best could sharpen the offense and make the pairing more natural, but the bigger question is whether the Spurs are ready to commit to that kind of hierarchy this early in the process. [Read more 🡒]