Dylan Harper is showing exactly why he still might surpass Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel

Some guys just have the look. Burst, physicality, decisiveness — stuff that is hard to measure with numbers but is indisputable to the human eye. And man … even though he finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, Dylan Harper has the look. 

Harper is going to be a superstar one day, but he’s already making winning plays in the NBA Playoffs despite coming off the bench and being 20 years old. The San Antonio Spurs don’t need him to be a primary scorer; they just need him to play a bit part that will consistently impact winning when he’s out there. And while he’s doing that, I’m also seeing stuff that makes me wonder how long they can keep this genie in the bottle.

Dylan Harper is the archetypal modern player. How good can he get?

Harper is huge, quick and is the dream scoring guard that any team would kill for. He suffers from the “everyone looks shorter next to Victor Wembanyama” syndrome that may trick you into forgetting he’s 6-foot-5, but he moves and scores like a much smaller, more explosive player. He has limitless defensive upside, and if he, Stephon Castle and Wembanyama all develop half as well as we think they can? Forget it. 

My favorite thing about Harper’s game, and the thing you cannot avoid seeing when you watch a Spurs game, is the at-rim finishing. He’s legitimately in the 101st percentile (hyperbole, that obviously … doesn’t exist) as a finisher, looking like some sort of taller, bigger mid-2010s John Wall with how fast he explodes from the 3-point line to the rim and how close he holds the ball to the hoop. There’s nothing floaty about it; he hugs the ball to the rim with zero air in between them and then places it in the cup. I cannot stress how physically gifted you need to be to pull that off consistently.

He’s also a committed and physical rebounder. In the first round against Portland, he showed what this two-way (three-way, because of rebounding … four-way from shooting? Hey, how many ways are there?) upside could do in a pivotal Game 3, scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 boards. Harper has been very hot and cold these playoffs, as any 20-year-old would be, but when it’s on? It is on like you can’t believe.

Harper has majorly impacted the Spurs’ playoff success, even in his limited role

The Spurs super-duper need Harper in this second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a gritty team who’s game plan appears to be “beat the crap out of this young Spurs team.” Best of luck trying to physically intimidate Harper, though, who will give just as good as he gets. He plays with a real edge that came out against Portland, and you will trash-talk him at your own risk.

Harper still has work to do as a shooter, though he really isn’t bad for his age. The next step for him will be increasing volume and playmaking responsibility, something that may create friction with De’Aaron Fox, the Spurs’ current (but older) starting point guard. But all that can wait, because right now we still have harper doing this all the time:

You see it, right? It’s impossible not to see it. Fourth in Rookie of the Year voting be damned, this guy could plausibly pass Cooper Flagg and become the best player from the 2026 class. And it feels almost … certain at this point. Am I getting ahead of myself? Probably, but I’m excited. Deal with it.

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