SAN ANTONIO – Dylan Harper, the standout 19-year-old guard from Rutgers, has been selected by the San Antonio Spurs as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Harper is also bringing a well-known basketball lineage with him to San Antonio.
>> NBA Draft prospect Dylan Harper on potentially landing in San Antonio
Here’s what to know about the newest addition to the Silver and Black.
He isn’t a tiny guard
The 6-foot-4, 213-pound guard has two-way potential. The lefty thrived as a scorer (19.4 points) with athleticism to finish at the rim, score on stepback jumpshots and hit catch-and-shoot looks.
Notably, Harper scored 36 points in an early-season overtime win against Notre Dame and followed that up with 37 more a day later in a loss to then-No. 9 Alabama during the Players Era Festival in November.
Harper is a playmaker with solid court vision, averaging 4.0 assists. He also averaged 1.4 steals, including a six-steal performance against Southern California and four more in February against a ranked Illinois team.
He comes from a basketball family
Harper’s father is five-time NBA champion Ron Harper Sr.
Drafted out of Miami University (Ohio), Harper Sr. played 15 seasons in the NBA, first for the Cleveland Cavaliers, then for the Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls.
In Chicago, he won three NBA titles alongside Michael Jordan. He then returned to Los Angeles and won two more rings with the Lakers before calling it a career.
In 2006, Harper Sr.’s alma mater, Kiser High School in Dayton, Ohio, named the school gym’s after him.
Dylan Harper’s brother, Ron Harper Jr., also played for Rutgers. Harper Jr. was the team’s top scorer in three of his four seasons in New Jersey.
Harper Jr. recently finished his third NBA season between the Detroit Pistons and their G League affiliate.
He was almost a Duke Blue Devil
Before committing to the Scarlet Knights, Harper was courted by four other programs, including Duke.
What tipped him in the Scarlet Knights’ favor was head coach Steve Pikiell. Harper’s family built up trust with Pikiell during the four years he coached Ron Harper Jr.
Alongside Ace Bailey, the third-highest rated recruit in the Class of 2024, Harper (the second-highest rated recruit) signed with the Scarlet Knights.
The signings of Bailey and Harper made Rutgers the second school to collect two of 2024’s top five prospects, according to 247Sports’ recruiting rankings.
The other school to pull that off: Duke.
He has also played internationally
As a senior at New Jersey’s Don Bosco Prep, Harper was selected as one of 12 players to represent the United States in 2023’s FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Hungary.
Pikiell, his soon-to-be college coach, was in attendance for Team USA’s final game against Japan.
The Scarlet Knights head coach personally traveled to Hungary as part of a yearslong recruiting effort that ultimately proved fruitful.
Harper scored 65 points overseas, averaging 9.3 points per game. Team USA finished the tournament in fourth place.
Harper on Wemby, Texas heat and tacos
During media availability on Tuesday, Harper said his first NBA pre-draft workout was with San Antonio. He talked about joining a team with a plethora of starting-caliber guards.
“Obviously, they’ve got two guards, but I mean, positionless basketball is really a thing in the league now,” Harper said. “And you’ve got a 7′4″ big out there in Wemby (Victor Wembanyama). Great player, going to be a Hall of Famer. They’ve got a lot of depth on that team."
He went further in his praise of Wembanyama, describing it as “a dream” if he becomes his teammate.
“He covers the paint from arm to arm. He’s really a force out there,” Harper said. “Can’t no one really stop him; you can only try to contain him. Just from the standpoint of being a point guard, seeing all the lobs you can throw. He can bail you out of a lot of spots. How much he impacts the game, honestly, is amazing.”
If the Spurs draft him, one of the biggest changes Harper said he will experience moving from the Northeast to the Lone Star State is the hot weather.
However, one aspect of San Antonio life he is ready for: the food.
“I’ve been to San Antonio, and I’ve had a breakfast taco (both times). Both times, the breakfast taco was good,” Harper said. “It’s not as good as a bacon, egg and cheese (bagel), but it’s right under (it). Texas is real hot, but it’s definitely a great environment to be lowkey.”