Dylan Harper's most important trait has nothing to do with Rookie of the Year

Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel are currently battling for Rookie of the Year honors. Deservedly so, of course, as both the No. 1 pick and No. 4 pick in last year's draft have been sensational for Dallas and Charlotte, respectively.

It's also important to remember that Dylan Harper's ceiling is just as high as either of theirs. Much has been manufactured about the Spurs selecting Harper while already having two high-level guards on the roster. That never made much sense, considering the Spurs expect Harper to be even more important to the 2030 version of the Spurs than the 2026 edition.

His raw numbers don't stack up to Flagg's or Knueppel's this year, but Harper still gets an "A" on the eye test (and per 100 numbers, too). Harper's finishing is staggering for a rookie guard, shooting 67% within three feet of the basket, almost on-par with his teammate De'Aaron Fox (71%) who is one of the best rim-finishing guards in the modern NBA.

That's good company — and there's plenty of reason to think that Harper will excel as his role expands with the Spurs. He's never looked overwhelmed with what Mitch Johnson has asked of him; in fact, there are far more examples of him clearly being capable of doing more, and simply not needing to.

Dylan Harper's ceiling is multi-time All-Star

Player development is seldom linear in the NBA, and Harper might still need to take some lumps, as they say. However, being able to learn behind De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle could help him avoid any hiccups in his ascent, as we've already seen that Harper isn't ever forced to make an impact for the Spurs. That makes improvement a lot easier.

Kon Knueppel has already become the second (or third) most important player on the Hornets, and Cooper Flagg is far and away the most crucial part of a depleted Mavs roster. That's impressive, surely, and gives them a head start over Harper right now. But five years from now, when Harper's role increases substantially in volume and all three are vital to their team's successes, it will be long forgotten that Harper's tenure started with him coming off the bench.

The top four picks in last year's draft all have clear star potential. From a macro view, Dylan Harper might not seem to be on track with Knueppel and Flagg right now, but a further examination reveals that his jump to stardom is still on the way.