Spurs fans forced to reckon with wild Dylan Harper what-if

The San Antonio Spurs drafted Dylan Harper second overall in the 2025 NBA Draft and landed a future All-Star at point guard. If they could go back, however, would they make the same decision? Or would they take Kon Knueppel instead?

Looking back to evaluate the 2025 draft class is a fun exercise, in part because so many players have been so good coming out of this class. Cooper Flagg, Harper, VJ Edgecombe and Knueppel are an all-time collection of talent in the first four picks, all of whom look like future All-Stars. Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears, Collin Murray-Boyles, Cedric Coward and Derik Queen have all shown real flashes of star potential.

With the benefit of hindsight, would NBA teams pick those players in the same exact order? Certainly not, as more data allows for more precise decision-making. That's the exercise we undertook over on sister site Hoops Habit, a "2025 NBA Re-Draft" drafting the lottery now that this group's rookie year is almost over. How would things change?

Dylan Harper or Kon Kneuppel at No. 2?

The answer is a lot, with only Cooper Flagg at No. 1 staying in the same position. That chaos starts with the No. 2 pick, as the Spurs had to decide: do they stick with Dylan Harper, the dynamic on-ball playmaker who excels at attacking the rim and has the size and motor to defend at a high level? Or do they pivot and make a different choice?

As the author of the re-draft piece, it was the most difficult decision of the entire project. Should the Spurs stay with Harper, whose ability to attack the rim is the perfect complement to Victor Wembanyama, whose size defensively raises the team's floor, who has already proven himself in a major role running the bench offense for a team on track to win 60 games?

The other option would be the unknown door: Kon Knueppel.

Kon Knueppel is a special player

Knueppel did not capture the imaginations of NBA scouts coming out of Duke; he was the Robin to Cooper Flagg's Batman, the less heralded prospect despite his production at every level. During the pre-draft process he drew comparisons to Joe Harris, not to Stephen Curry.

And yet he has been every bit the heir apparent to Curry since his rookie year began. Knueppel is averaging 19 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while hitting 43.6 percent of his eight triples per game. That combination of production and shooting has literally only happened with one other player - not as a rookie, but ever: Wardell Stephen Curry.

Spurs fans likely shiver at the mention of Curry's name, but the comparisons are apt. Knueppel can get his shot off from all sorts of angles and he excels both on-ball and off-ball. His rebounding has been underrated and he is far from a pushover defensively. He has raised his profile from useful offense-first rotation guard to future All-NBA player.

What if the Spurs could have the next Stephen Curry on their roster? How would defenses hope to stop both the shooting of Knueppel and the length inside of Wembanyama? And if you manage to stop those actions, what about when Wemby is on the perimeter and Knueppel is knifing into the paint? Now add in Stephon Castle and the universe shatters!

Harper has been fantastic; he will make All-Star Games next to Wembanyama and Castle, no doubt. Picking Knueppel over Harper - as we did in the re-draft - is not an indictment of Harper, but more so an acknowledgment of just how special Knueppel has been.

Both are going to be future stars. Both will contribute to winning at the highest levels. Both would be phenomenal paired with Wembanyama, not only because anyone is maximized playing with the future MVP.

Kon Knueppel over Dylan Harper? Spurs fans may not want to hear it -- and they will never have to live it -- but it's a fair debate. And the road not traveled might just be even better than reality.

And that's saying something.