Rookie guard Dylan Harper ready for NBA education with San Antonio Spurs — Andscape

San Antonio Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper was already in awe when he saw all five of the Spurs’ NBA championship banners hanging from the rafters at their practice facility during his draft workout.

The teenager said he felt like a giddy fan moments later when he saw former Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich and forward Tim Duncan.

“I turn around and in the corner of my eye I just saw them walking by,” Harper, 19, recently told Andscape. “So, you know I had to go dap them up and take the video. It caught me off guard. I was like, ‘What are they doing here?’ I was like, ‘Maybe they’re just here this one day?’ And they’re like, ‘No, they are here all the time.’ And so, when they talk about the Spurs’ organization and their culture, that’s really what culture is. …

“I met Pop the first day I was there and Tim. Pop was there getting treatment and doing exercises. That is not regular in any NBA gym. You see a Hall of Fame coach, a Hall of Fame player walking around the gym. And they are there like every day. I can pick their brain and ask questions.”

The Spurs selected Harper with the second overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft from Rutgers University. He averaged 19.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while playing with Ace Bailey, who was drafted fifth overall by the Utah Jazz. Harper joins a franchise that has had the NBA Rookie of the Year in each of the past two seasons in Victor Wembanyama (2023-24) and Stephon Castle (2024-25).

With Castle and 2023 NBA All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox on the roster, Harper is expected to add more strength to the Spurs in a stellar three-guard rotation. The Spurs have not been to the NBA playoffs since 2019. But Harper still has a lot of pride playing for the Spurs’ organization due to their titles, history, talent and how they treat their players.

“For me to be in this organization, it’s every kid’s dream. It’s a dream come true,” Harper said. “They really care for everyone whether you’re in the G League, two-way (Exhibit 10), star player, role player, bench guy. It doesn’t matter. They are going to care for you the exact same way. With the culture and family atmosphere they have, you have to work hard every day. We are going to do everything together. That’s what I’ve taken most out of it so far; ain’t no better place to land than San Antonio in my eyes.

“I’m not going to be perfect, but I just want to learn every day from the vets and the guys around me, like De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes. Even a guy like Wemby, Steph Castle. Just learn as much as I can from everyone. I’m new. I’m going to be that guy with full energy, running around the gym and just trying to understand the game better. And as I’m getting better every day, that would be a pretty successful rookie year. I want to just go out there and show I belong.”

Spurs general manager Brian Wright says he first became enamored with Harper’s game when he watched him play at the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team minicamp in Colorado Springs. Wright says he saw a maturity, poise, basketball IQ and talent in Harper’s play. With Cooper Flagg projected to be drafted first by the Dallas Mavericks, Wright said it was a “no-brainer, clear and easy” for the Spurs to select Harper with the second pick despite other talented prospects available.

“Whenever he played, he read the game on a higher level,” Wright told Andscape. “You can tell he’s done his homework. It’s all basketball with him. He is not into anything else. He just wants to compete. He comes from that family with a basketball background. Brother played in G League and the NBA. Dad played in the NBA. Mom played college basketball. He had basketball knowledge around him, and when you saw his feel for the game it oozes out. He reads and sees the game. He never played like a young player.”

Harper says he has learned much from a family that has been instrumental in his basketball career.

Harper’s father, Ron, was a five-time NBA champion who played in the NBA from 1986 to 2001. The shooting guard played with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and later with Shaquille O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers. Dylan Harper’s mother, Maria, was a defensive-minded point guard at the University of New Orleans. Dylan’s older brother, Ron Harper Jr., also played in nine games for the Toronto Raptors during the 2022-23 season and one game for the Detroit Pistons last season.

“It’s a dream as a kid that loves to play basketball just having the people that came before you in your family,” Dylan Harper said. “I could look at my brother every day when I was growing up going to the gym, watching him work out. I could watch my mom and dad coach and teach the game and pick their brains. So, I kind of had everything a basketball player would want in terms of the resources and the outlet and the people to talk to and look up to.”

Dylan Harper, who was born in 2006, wasn’t alive to see his father play in person and didn’t comprehend what his father accomplished in the NBA until he was older. But in recent years, he has witnessed the respect and love for his father’s NBA career and has been given history lessons.

“I never got to see him play, but when I was growing up he was still doing appearances,” Dylan Harper said of his father. “I remember we went to Chicago for All-Star Weekend (in 2019) and that was probably the best All-Star Weekend ever. It was up there. To be in the back rooms and to see superstars walking around like regular people was crazy to me back then. We played Bryce [James] in New York, LeBron’s [James’] son, and I saw the connection between [my father and LeBron James] both being from Ohio. If [my father] sees someone in the league, they all know each other. It is like a brotherhood in a way.

“From my dad, I just got the history of the game. He played in the ’80s, ’90s. I get all the Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant stories, Shaq stories. All those stories. I get to pick his brain and, for him, just him giving me the knowledge is great.”

Formerly Maria Pizarro, Maria Harper played sparingly in 20 games as a freshman for the Division I Privateers during the 1993-94 season, according to College Basketball Reference. She was her son’s coach in high school at Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) before he left for Rutgers. She also is a former head coach of the girls’ varsity team at Wayne DePaul Catholic High School (N.J.).

“She was like mom to everyone,” Dylan Harper said. “She didn’t single me out at the time [during games]. After the game, when we were in the car or at home, she could single me out. But every time we were present [with the team], my mom would say, ‘I know I am mom to you. But I’m mom to everyone [here]. …’

“When you’re young you just want to play basketball. You’re not really aware of who’s coaching. But as you grow up you kind of get to see and you notice, ‘Yeah, my mom is coaching me.’ But the good thing about it was she was kind of mom to everyone.”

Dylan Harper has learned a lot about not taking his NBA opportunity for granted from his big brother. Unlike his little brother, Ron Harper Jr. went undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft. He’s currently on a two-way contract with the Pistons.

“From my brother, I saw more of the underdog story with him,” Dylan Harper said. “And I’ve seen him work hard and how hard you have to work if you don’t get drafted high or drafted. The amount of work, time, hours and preparation it takes to just get a two-way and be in the league is hard.

“So, props to him. He is definitely showing what hard work looks like and just how to never quit no matter if things are going your way or not.”

Dylan Harper also has much pride in his African American and Filipino heritage (Harper’s mother is Filipino). He hopes to make his first trip to the basketball-crazed Philippines when time permits.

“I’ll definitely get to the Philippines soon,” Harper said. “That’s a goal of mine. I see how much they love basketball and just how much my mom really cares and loves for her background, my grandparents and just giving back to them. But balancing both sides is easy. There’s no pressure. It’s not like I’m getting forced to do something.

“I want to be the one that goes out there and represents both the Filipino and the Black side. Just having both sides is great. It just shows my different colors.”

In Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs have had two former guards named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in recent years. Harper hasn’t met Parker, who spends time living in San Antonio among his other residences.

But Harper said he has spent considerable time receiving words of wisdom from Ginobili, an Argentinean who works for the Spurs as a special advisor and has his No. 20 jersey retired with the franchise.

“I talk to him the most,” Harper said of Ginobili. “More about just the game and the speed and just how he adapted to it from a FIBA standpoint to coming over here. What was his biggest changes being a player and being professional outside of basketball? What kept you locked in? Just all little things I think that every NBA player goes through. …

“I’ve hung out with Ginobili every day since I’ve been here. I’m just picking his brain and just asking him questions. From past players to coaches, everyone is involved in it. Everyone comes back.”

The Spurs played in three California Classic summer league games in San Francisco without Harper due to a groin injury. However, the 6-foot-6, 215-pounder could make his summer league debut on Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers and No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). Harper is also slated to play against Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday (ESPN, 4 p.m. ET).

Harper acknowledged that he was excited to play against Flagg and believes there is a lot of talent in this upcoming rookie class.

“Playing basketball with that competitive edge brings the game to a [higher] level,” Harper said. “Just everyone in our class competes with each other. Obviously, we’re all cool. But we know when we can get in between the four lines we all are going to compete at the highest level. So, I’m ready to play anyone. But that game is going to be a good one for sure.”

Harper, who has lived his entire life in New Jersey, will be moving away for the first time when he settles in San Antonio. As for San Antonio, the only thing he said he knows about the city is that it has “good breakfast tacos” and “it’s hot.”

Harper said he expects to get educated on and off the court with the Spurs this season.

“It’s the first time I’m living by myself in a different state from everyone because in college I stayed at home,” Harper said. “So, it’s a different environment. But change is good to a certain extent. There’s going to be good change in your life. I’m playing in the NBA; ain’t no better change than that. And if I’m moving cities, I’m moving cities without thinking.

“I’m now seeing when I’m by myself what I like to do. I’m just finding routines and all different types of things. And the biggest adjustment for me probably will be being away from my family and friends. I’ve always been 30, 45, 50 minutes away from everyone. So, that would definitely be an adjustment.”