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Michael C. Wright
Having chosen back-to-back NBA Rookie of the Yr winners over the previous two drafts, the San Antonio Spurs hope to have a 3rd straight in Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, whom they chose with the No. 2 choose in Wednesday night time’s NBA draft.
The choice marks the Spurs’ third consecutive draft with a top-four choose, following Stephon Castle, the 2025 Rookie of the Yr whom the staff took fourth final yr, and 2024 prime rookie Victor Wembanyama, who was the No. 1 choose in 2023.
Harper stated he believed he was in the correct state of affairs to “showcase” his expertise and make it three in a row for the Spurs.
“I believe while you play with a bunch of nice gamers, it simply brings the very best out of you,” Harper instructed ESPN after being drafted. “They received a terrific younger core over there. I am simply able to get in there and make an impression anyplace I can with these guys.”
The addition of Harper, extensively thought-about one of many elite guard prospects of this yr’s class, may appear redundant in San Antonio due to Citadel and new level guard De’Aaron Fox. However Harper’s versatility matches the mildew the Spurs search as they transition to enjoying positionless basketball. The staff’s brass is not overly involved with drafting for positional wants, believing the gamers in the end develop and decide their area of interest inside the system.
At Rutgers, Harper showcased a knack for creating rim stress, which can enhance San Antonio’s spacing as Wembanyama is already one of many elite floor-spacing massive males within the league.
With the latest hiring of assistant coach Corliss Williamson and affiliate head coach Sean Sweeney, the Spurs want to ratchet up the stress on a protection anchored by Wembanyama, final season’s blocked photographs chief. At 6-foot-6, Harper has the size to grow to be a key cog in what may grow to be one of many league’s most suffocating models.
“I believe all my life it is all the time been how can I’m going someplace the place you make one thing occur and clearly get to the championship,” Harper stated. “I believe with that younger group, they’re in the correct course. They have a terrific every part, man, from the entrance workplace to the gear supervisor, to the video man. They throughout are nice. I believe the coach over there may be nice. I am simply glad that I am part of it now.”
This draft marked San Antonio’s first in almost 30 years with out Corridor of Famer Gregg Popovich as coach. However the 76-year-old has remained extremely engaged within the staff’s draft course of, as it really works to encompass Wembanyama with versatile two-way gamers able to contributing dependable exterior capturing.
San Antonio caught with that philosophy in deciding on the bouncy, athletic, 3-and-D ahead Carter Bryant of Arizona with the No. 14 choose regardless of a necessity so as to add depth behind Wembanyama within the frontcourt. Along with logging 37 blocks final season (seventh most by a freshman in Arizona historical past), Carter shot 37.1% from deep in his lone season with the Wildcats.
Harper, in the meantime, showcased a knack for constantly creating rim stress in school, which can enhance San Antonio’s spacing as Wembanyama is already one of many elite floor-spacing massive males within the league.
In different strikes, the Spurs traded the No. 38 total choose to Indiana Pacers for a future second-round choose and money concerns.