Spurs rookie Dylan Harper shrugged off a season of doubts about his draft fit as San Antonio reached the Western Conference finals.
Dylan Harper heard the doubts about his draft fit all season. The San Antonio Spurs guard pushed back on them after the team reached the Western Conference finals on Friday.
San Antonio closed out the Minnesota Timberwolves 139-109 in Game 6 at Target Center, taking the Western Conference semifinal series 4-2. Harper scored 15 points off the bench, missed just two of his eight shots, and added 5 rebounds in nearly 26 minutes.
Harper said the talk never got to him.
"All year it was like, 'Did he get drafted to the wrong spot?' this, that and the third, and it was like I never thought about that because I kind of knew how good we were and I knew the impact that everyone brought to the table and I knew that we can do things like this," Harper said.
San Antonio drafted Harper second overall in 2025 after his lone season at Rutgers. The Spurs already had De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle in the backcourt, and spending another high pick on a lead guard puzzled people who saw three of them as one too many. Spurs general manager Brian Wright waved off the concern at the time, saying positions matter less in today's NBA.
Harper is the third straight top-four pick San Antonio has used to build its young core, after Victor Wembanyama went first in 2023 and Castle fourth in 2024. His father, Ron Harper, won five championships in a 15-year NBA career.
He has spent his rookie year coming off the bench, with Fox and Castle locking up the starting backcourt. Harper still averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.
Fox, the player Harper supposedly made redundant, said he has embraced the team's young guards.
"Having guys who are this talented have watched me throughout my career and then we get to be in the same locker room, get to be on the court together, is something that I love. I want them to feel that success from as early as you can get in your career," Fox said.
Harper had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in Game 5 and scored 24 in Game 4 against Minnesota. In Game 3 of the first round against Portland, he and Castle each topped 25 points, something only Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had done as a duo aged 21 or younger in a playoff game.
Harper reached the conference finals as a rookie, with San Antonio four wins from the NBA Finals.
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