San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper is fresh off an excellent rookie campaign, playing a huge role in the team's trip to the NBA Finals. Harper made the most of his time on the court throughout the championship series. However, he sometimes found himself on the bench at key junctures due to the Spurs' depth at the guard position.
Veteran point guard De'Aaron Fox averaged 36.6 minutes per game in the NBA Finals, more than Harper's 31 minutes per game. This discrepancy sparked some rumors of friction between the rookie and his veteran leader. Harper completely shut down these rumors during a recent interview with NBA insider Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson.
"What’s understood doesn’t need to be explained. Fox basically took me under his wing my whole first year and helped me and allowed me to grow in this space," Harper said, via Robinson. "Me and him never had a problem.
I’ve never seen a problem playing with two to three ball-handlers on the floor. Everyone last year said that it was not going to work... but I think we exceeded expectations a lot. All I care about is doing what’s best for the team and winning, and he is a big factor in us winning now and in the future.
That’s kind of my uncle — he teaches me things that I don’t think anyone else in his position could teach me." With a full season of NBA experience under his belt, Harper will return to the court with what many expect to be an even larger role for the Spurs in 2026-27.
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