'Attacking' Dylan Harper Details Why Year 2 Feels Different Before Spurs Opener

Dylan Harper scored 14 straight points in the third quarter of the San Antonio Spurs' preseason finale Friday, a 126-97 win over the Sacramento Kings at Frost Bank Center.

He finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 21 minutes. Harper shot 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range. The 19 points led the Spurs for the third time this preseason. Harper also started the preseason opener against the Atlanta Hawks, a game De'Aaron Fox missed.

San Antonio took Harper second overall in 2025 out of Rutgers. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson told reporters after Friday's game that Harper will start Tuesday's opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He will join Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, and Victor Wembanyama.

Harper said the coaches let players go long stretches in games and practices and fight through fatigue.

"As ready as we can be," Harper said. "I feel like we all have put in our due diligence, and we've attacked this preseason the right way, obviously, and just going in with the right mindset and the right amount of details. And I feel like we'll be good to go come Tuesday."

San Antonio went 2-3 in the preseason and won its last two. The Spurs opened Friday's game with a 42-18 first quarter.

Harper put in work on his shot all summer.

"Very confident," Harper explained. "I feel like I worked at it all summer, so there's no reason for me to be hesitant. There's no reason for me to pull back. So just the biggest thing is just taking the right shots at the right time."

As a rookie, Harper shot 34.4% from 3-point range. He averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 69 games and shot 50.5% from the field.

The first half Friday was a lot of ball movement and open shots, and Harper felt the Spurs were starting to figure out their identity.

"Situations, obviously, the biggest thing," Harper said. "Like me not taking quick shots just because I'm open, or me not taking a long two because I'm open, and just kind of feeling out the game and figuring out what the game needs for me is the biggest thing."

Harper, Fox, and Castle shared the floor for 25 minutes in the 2025-26 regular season and posted a minus-26.9 net rating. The trio's first start together came against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 14. Fox has said the group's shooting will decide how far it goes.

A year ago, Harper made his NBA debut off the bench at the Dallas Mavericks and scored 15 points in a 125-92 win. He started the game with two turnovers.

"Nervous as hell. I was so nervous," Harper said. "I think I came out of the game — I started the game with two turnovers. Hopefully, that's not how it goes on Tuesday. But I was definitely nervous. I was amped up, ready to go, but first NBA game."

As a rookie, Harper did not really have a preseason. He played in one exhibition game in 2025.

"I feel like last year was really just trying to get my footing right. I feel like I didn't really have a preseason, so I kind of started off a little later than the rest of the league," Harper said. "But I feel like once I found my footing, I think my game started showing in different ways. And I feel like this year compared to last year, I've had the whole preseason to kind of condition my body and condition myself just to go out there and be me."

The Spurs treated every preseason game as if it were a regular-season game, or as if they were playing the Thunder.

"They're a great team, obviously," Harper said. "They won the championship two years ago, so you've got to give props up to that, and you've got to obviously take them very serious, because they are one of the best teams in the league."

"But we're just going to go out there like it's any other game, and we're going to put our hard hats on, and we're going to prepare, and obviously we're going to go out there and compete to the highest level," Harper continued.

The Spurs eliminated Oklahoma City in May. Harper scored 18 points in the Spurs' 118-91 win in Game 6.

NBA general managers named him the player most likely to break out this season in the league's annual survey, released Oct. 15. In the same survey, the GMs picked San Antonio to win the 2027 championship.

Harper made 57.1% of his 3-point attempts in the preseason, on 3.5 attempts per game.

The Spurs and Thunder tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT Tuesday on NBC and Peacock.