Dylan Harper made his San Antonio Spurs debut on Friday night, scoring nine points with three assists in 18 minutes off the bench during a 134-130 victory over the Utah Jazz. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft missed the first two preseason games while recovering from thumb surgery.
Harper, a 6-foot-1 guard from Rutgers, shot 4-of-6 from the field and finished with a plus-20 rating. He entered the game with 6:12 left in the first quarter and scored on a backdoor kick just 12 seconds later.
The 19-year-old rookie quickly discovered that playing alongside Victor Wembanyama, a 7-foot-10 center, requires a complete recalibration of basketball instincts. Harper threw an alley-oop pass in the first half that he initially thought was too high, but Wembanyama finished the play despite the pass being slightly undersized.
“No one ever plays with someone that big,” Harper said. “You have to turn your brain a little bit.”
“I should have thrown it a lot higher,” Harper added of the alley-oop connection.
Harper showed his defensive intensity and playmaking ability in his debut. He scored on multiple drives to the basket, including a layup against former Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey, the No. 5 pick in the draft. Harper also connected on a contested baseline jumper and a three-pointer.
“Dylan was great,” veteran center Luke Kornet said. “He obviously has a lot of skills and abilities at his disposal, but I’m quite impressed with his knowledge of the game, his understanding of how to play it and how things all fit together.”
Head coach Mitch Johnson praised Harper’s maturity before the game, noting the rookie’s team-first approach. Harper is the highest-drafted player in Spurs history outside of Wembanyama, Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
“It just felt good to play again,” Harper said. “Just going up and down, just trying to get a feel for the game again.”
Wembanyama finished with 22 points in the first half and did not play in the second half. David Jones Garcia led the Spurs in scoring with 20 points, all in the fourth quarter and overtime.
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