Dylan Harper has helped the San Antonio Spurs force Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals, and he's been incredibly impactful.
On Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-91 to force a Game 7 in the Western Conference Finals. That will be Saturday night and the winner will head to the NBA Finals to take on the New York Knicks.
In Thursday's win, Spurs rookie Dylan Harper played 22 minutes, scoring 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He also had six rebounds and four assists. The No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft out of Rutgers, he's been incredibly impressive during this postseason run, joining the likes of Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum on a rare list in league history.
Per @statmuse
Rookies with 200+ points, 80+ rebounds and 20+ steals in a postseason (since merger):
— Jayson Tatum
— Manu Ginobili
— Magic Johnson
— Dylan Harper
That's the list.
The former No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft (2017), Tatum is now a nine-year veteran of the Celtics. A six-time All-Star and a five-time All-NBA selection, he was also the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021-22. He has helped the Celtics get to the NBA Finals twice, including a championship win in 2023-24.
Tatum played in only 16 games this regular season as he returned from a torn Achilles, but he averaged 21.8 ppg and a career-high 10 rebounds. He shot 41.1 percent from the floor and 32.9 percent from three-point range.
The Celtics earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference after going 56-26 in the regular season. Tatum has been to the playoffs each of the nine years of his career.
In 127 playoff games, he's averaged 24.2 ppg and 8.3 rebounds.
In other Celtics news
--The Celtics could be on the verge of losing another assistant: 34-year-old Tyler Lashbrook is reportedly one of five finalists for the Portland Trail Blazers head coaching opening. As reminded by Zack Cox of the Boston Herald, Lashbrook was the head coach of the G-League's Maine Celtics in 2024-25 before coming back to the NBA this past season.
--The NBA has agreed to sweeping changes to the NBA's Draft Lottery process, aimed at hurting "tanking" teams. The Celtics don't aspire to have to have to care about the draft lottery any time soon, but here's what's happening.
--The NBA Draft is coming up on June 23 and the Celtics currently own the No. 27 and No. 40 picks. It's unclear if they'll use those picks or try to trade them for already-established talent.
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