For the vast majority of the 2025 NBA Draft cycle, Dylan Harper was largely viewed as the clear-cut number two guy. When the San Antonio Spurs landed the second overall pick, though, there was some initial skepticism about whether they’d take another guy of a similar mold to the one they just drafted (Stephon Castle) and the one they just traded for (De’Aaron Fox). All the common clichés, like “there’s only one ball” and “you can only have so many cooks in the kitchen,” started rolling out. Contemplating other positional needs made sense, but these counterarguments withered away as it quickly turned into a classic don’t overthink it situation. It hasn’t taken long, but Harper has immediately shown that he’s not a redundancy, but a luxury.
