Dylan Harper described his Spurs offseason work after averaging 18.0 points in the NBA Finals and going 61-of-178 from 3.
Dylan Harper spent the last week of July in Chicago with his father, eating at Ron Harper's old spots from his Bulls years. Harper told Bleacher Report the offseason work covers "a little bit of everything."
He shot 61-of-178 from 3-point range last season.
The San Antonio Spurs took Harper second overall in 2025, out of Rutgers, where he had averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in his one college season. He is 6-5, 215 pounds, and shoots left-handed. He was 19 for all but the final month of the regular season. Ron Harper won five championships across a 15-year career with the Bulls and Lakers.
Harper scored 15 points in his debut on Oct. 22 at Dallas, and the Spurs won on opening night for the first time in four seasons. Two days later in New Orleans he had 13 in overtime. A 20-point game at home followed, with San Antonio 3-0. He averaged 14.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists over that opening stretch.
Then came Phoenix. Harper went up around Nick Richards to deflect a pass midway through the second quarter, landed limping, and left with a left calf injury. He had 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 11 minutes. The Suns won 130-118 and handed San Antonio its first loss.
He finished the regular season with 813 points, 234 rebounds, and 266 assists over 1,558 minutes in 69 games. Four were starts. Harper shot 50.5% from the field and went 90-of-119 at the line. His career high is 24 points.
The playoff run ran 615 minutes across 23 games. He scored 325 points in them. His 3-point shooting held at 23-of-69, and he made 62 of 75 free throws.
A hamstring problem took Harper out of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at Oklahoma City, a 122-113 loss. The NBA named him to the All-Rookie First Team that same week. Cooper Flagg won Rookie of the Year, and Harper finished fourth. He was 11th in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
In the Finals he came off the bench five times and averaged 18.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. Only Victor Wembanyama scored more for San Antonio. Harper put up 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, going 3-of-6 from 3-point range, in the game the Spurs led by 29 and lost 107-106. He scored 25 on 10-of-19 in the closeout at Frost Bank Center on June 13, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Jalen Brunson scored 45 that night. New York won 94-90 and took the series 4-1.
There are things from the season Harper wishes he could have back, individually and as a team.
"You don't ever get over something like that," Harper said. "Any team that loses in the NBA Finals kind of feels like they dropped the ball. But it's not much getting over it, I feel like you have to move on if you want to get to the next thing. But, just kind of using it as fuel to the fire and having that in the back of my mind."
Following the path and staying on the grind is how Harper describes his approach, rather than demanding of himself that everything arrive at once.
"I think it was more just telling me to keep growing as a player, as a person," Harper explained. "I feel like his biggest message to me was to stay composed and stay poised. He understands the work I've put in on a day-to-day basis, so for him, what he told me was just stay ready, be ready when the time comes, and I feel like that's the type of mindset I've had all year."
Wembanyama signed a five-year, $252 million extension this offseason. San Antonio also added Tobias Harris, on two years and $31 million. ESPN's Michael C. Wright reported that the Spurs remain committed to De'Aaron Fox at starting point guard. Coach Mitch Johnson will make the call on performance, Wright reported. Lineups with Fox, Harper, and Stephon Castle together produced a minus-26.9 net rating over 18 games last season.
Harper told RG's DJ Siddiqi that roughly 450 people get to play in the NBA and that the rest is logistics.
Harper said Wembanyama's decision to sign for less than the supermax showed a player who wants what is best for the team.
"Both conferences are very tough, and I feel like there's no off nights in this league," Harper said. "I think for us, we're happy to have the same group and add a piece, so I feel like we're very confident and very happy going into the season."
The Spurs went 62-20. Harper signed a two-year, $25.36 million rookie-scale contract in July 2025. The deal carries a $13.61 million team option for 2027-28.
