Dylan Harper is proving he was the right pick for the Spurs all along

Dylan Harper has been better in these playoffs than anyone could ever ask of any rookie. He hasn’t been unafraid of the moment; he’s risen all the way to it, ascending his game to another level and playing like a star at times.

Spurs fans all realize that this kid is a stud, and really, there shouldn’t have ever been any doubt about it. But, there have been people out there throughout the year saying San Antonio made the wrong pick last June. Harper is proving those overreactors wrong.

Dylan Harper was and always has been the right pick for the Spurs

In March, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor said the Spurs would pick Kon Knueppel over Dylan Harper in a 2025 redraft. That was a bad take when it dropped, but it looks even worse now.

At 20 years old, Harper has averaged 14.6 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 53.8% from the field in his very first playoff action while playing a serious role in helping San Antonio advance to the Conference Finals. That’s unbelievable stuff. It’s rare for rookies to even get minutes in the postseason, let alone contribute this much.

Meanwhile, Knueppel went a combined 5/22 from the field with a total plus/minus of -46 in Charlotte's two play-in games (he was -20 in the game the Hornets won over Miami). There are levels to this, man.

But the direct comparison to Knueppel is besides the point. What matters is that the Spurs are more than happy with having Dylan Harper on their team. He’s shown the potential to go down as the best player from his draft class.

Even in the regular season, where Harper’s modest 11.8 points in 22.6 minutes per game ultimately held him outside of the top three in Rookie of the Year voting, it was clear he’s a special talent. The context to those stats matter.

Sure, Knueppel averaged 18.5 points, but he got to shoot 13.4 times per night, and his team missed the playoffs. Meanwhile, Harper was a key bench piece for San Antonio as they earned the second seed in the West, and now, he and his squad are in the Conference Finals while Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, and VJ Edgecombe are all in Cancun.

People need to stop rewriting history with Harper and the Spurs

Harper was always considered the consensus second-best player in his class, falling only behind Cooper Flagg. As much as critics tried to talk the Spurs out of selecting him because of the guard logjam that hasn’t been a problem, they brought him in anyway. Saying that was the right call is a huge understatement.

Why people haven’t been able to recognize how good Harper is is puzzling, but with the way he’s playing lately, he’s going to force them to give him his flowers. Social media talking heads can say whatever they want, but at the end of the day, San Antonio wouldn’t want any other rookie over Dylan Harper.

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