点击查看原文：5 things to know about new San Antonio Spur Dylan Harper
5 things to know about new San Antonio Spur Dylan Harper
There was little doubt about who the San Antonio Spurs would take with the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
With Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg going to the Dallas Mavericks with the first pick, the Spurs quickly fulfilled expectations and drafted Rutgers freshman guard Dylan Harper.
Here are five things to know about the newest addition to the Spurs.
1. He’s the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper
Known for being a role player on the Chicago Bulls’ and Michael Jordan’s second three-peat from 1996-98 and then for helping the Los Angeles Lakers go back-to-back in 2000-01, the elder Harper was more a focal point early in his career.
Harper, the eighth overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1986, made the All-Rookie Team in 1987 after averaging 22.9 points per game. In eight seasons with the Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers before joining the Bulls in 1994, Harper averaged over 19 points per game.
Basketball runs deep in the Harper family.
Harper’s mother, Maria, played college basketball at New Orleans and is an assistant coach at Harper’s alma mater, Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey.
He also has a brother, Ron Harper Jr., who also went to Rutgers and has played sparingly in three NBA seasons with the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons.
Dylan Harper talks to media at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
2. Harper drives to the basket with ease and is an elite finisher
Harper’s basketball pedigree shows up in his stature — 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds — but his best skill is nimbly maneuvering his truck-like physique through the lane and finishing at the rim.
He scored 19.9 points per game in his lone season at Rutgers and made 70% of his shots in the paint. He’s crafty and always seems to get to the rim, a skill that will translate nicely to the NBA.
“He’s a lefty, but he can go both ways,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell told the Express-News. “He has a knack for finishing around shot-blockers.”
3. Harper and Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey both expected to be lottery picks
It’s likely that both Harper and fellow freshman running mate Bailey will be picked in the top five selections Wednesday night.
Bailey averaged 17.6 points per game and proved he could shoulder the load as the primary scorer when Harper sat out with an injury, scoring 39 against Indiana and 37 against Northwestern.
Despite having two high draft picks, the Scarlet Knights stumbled to a 15-17 overall record and missed the NCAA tournament. How a team with both Harper and Bailey could have missed the tournament raises some questions, but it doesn’t appear to have hurt either player’s draft stock much, if at all, according to most mock drafts.
A mural painted by local artist Nick Soupe of Dylan Harper in San Antonio Spurs uniform on June 25, 2025.
4. Harper creates redundancy for Spurs with De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle — but it doesn’t matter
Harper’s skill set overlaps heavily with both Fox and Castle, who also are athletic guards who excel at driving and making things happen at the rim.
Draft experts seem to believe the Spurs will still select Harper despite the questions of fit on their roster and for good reason. Fit can be figured out later.
The Spurs would be making a mistake should they pass on Harper, Pikiell said.
Pikiell tabs Harper as an “elite player,” and he’s billed by draft experts as both a polished prospect who also holds All-NBA potential. Part of that potential comes from the hope that he can develop into an elite, or at least quality, 3-point shooter. Like Castle before him, Harper’s jumper shows potential but needs to develop consistency at the next level.
Should one or both of them develop on that track, it would also fill a huge need for the Spurs.
5. Spurs covet Harper enough to spurn Kevin Durant trade overtures from Suns
With Durant headed to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 overall pick this year and five second-round picks, it’s definitely possible the Spurs could have had Durant if they really wanted him.
The most discussed potential trade package for the Spurs would have included Devin Vassell, Harrison Barnes and the No. 14 overall pick in this year’s draft, which was not quite enough to get a deal done considering the Rockets’ offer.
Still, offering either Castle or the No. 2 overall pick, presumably to be used on Harper, would have been a more desirable trade package for the Suns.
But the Spurs refused to give up what they see as their future for one season of the 37-year-old Durant. So, it looks like Harper is headed to San Antonio.
West guard Dylan Harper (2) gets ready to dunk the ball during the first half of the boys 2024 McDonald’s All American game at Toyota Center on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Houston.