SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs selected Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper with the second pick in the NBA draft on Wednesday night, adding even more youth to a promising roster led by all-stars Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox.
Harper joins a team that also includes rookie of the year Stephon Castle and veterans in Harrison Barnes, Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson.
“When you play with a bunch of great players, it just brings the best out of you,” Harper said. “They’ve got a great core over there. I’m just ready to get in there and make an impact any way I can with those guys.”
Harper was regarded as the second-best prospect available behind Duke’s Cooper Flagg, who was selected first by the Dallas Mavericks.
Wembanyama and Castle won back-to-back rookie of the year honours for San Antonio. In Harper, the Spurs believe they have another rookie who can have an immediate impact.
The son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Harper averaged 19.4, 4.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals in his lone season at Rutgers.
Harper joins a backcourt that already has point guards in Fox and Castle, but the Spurs had no hesitation selecting the six-foot-six guard.
Harper said he can easily fit his game into a lineup alongside Fox and Castle in what has become something of a position-less league. He was also eager to get on the court with the seven-foot-three Wembanyama, who missed the final 30 games of the season with a blood clot in his right shoulder.
“Just from a standpoint of being a point guard and seeing him and all the lobs you can throw,” Harper said Tuesday. “He can bail you out of a lot of spots.”
San Antonio fans have already embraced Harper, with his mural being unveiled this week by the same restaurant that painted Wembanyama’s image months before the Spurs were awarded the No. 1 pick in 2023.
“It’s just very surreal,” said Harper, who saw the painting on Instagram.
Harper received a raucous reception from a few thousand fans who watched the NBA draft on a big screen at the Spurs practice facility.
San Antonio also held the No. 14 pick, which they acquired from Atlanta in 2022, as well as the 38th selection in the second round.
