About two hours before tipoff for Game 1 of the 2026 Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spurs were dealt a blow to their vaunted backcourt.
The loss of De’Aaron Fox and the return of Jalen Williams to the Thunder lineup seemed to tip the scales in OKC’s favor, especially with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander receiving his second MVP trophy in front of a loud and proud Thunder crowd. All it did, though, was unleash Dylan Harper.
Harper missed four of his first five shots in Game 1, but he settled into his role and performed admirably in the face of physical defense and high stakes, especially when San Antonio’s lead would disappear. The 20-year old was ironically the man amongst older men, as he scored or assisted on eight of the last 10 Spurs points and when the dust settled, Harper found himself in legendary company.
Yes, Victory Wembanyama gave us a glimpse of how Wilt Chamberlain could fare in today’s NBA, but Harper’s performance deserves praise as well. He was a rookie that could have started in 20 other teams, but his current situation in San Antonio is something the rest of his peers would want too. The second overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft was the third and at times even the fourth option with the Spurs during the regular season and rather than mope or take out his frustrations with the media, Harper absorbed the coaching from Mitch Johnson and his staff, the mentorship from the likes of Manu Ginobili, and the lessons from the reps he was given when he entered the game. All of that translated to a great postseason, where the Filipino-American has managed to take his game to greater heights.
Harper has become a two-way menace, bullying older and more seasoned defenders when he attacks the basket while being a pest on the defensive end. His 11 rebounds in Game 1 were the second-most among all players, trailing only Wembanyama, whose 24 rebounds were more than half of what the Thunder finished with (40). This and more has made Harper a dependable option for Johnson during clutch moments, as he had the least amount of turnovers (one) among those that played at least 45 minutes in Game 1.
Given the ebbs and flows that come during this point in the postseason, there’s a chance Dylan Harper regresses later in the series. But there’s also a chance he doesn’t, because at every stage where other rookies are benched, face a slump, or are flat out shut down, Harper has thrived and will continue to do so. It would be easy to say that sky is the limit for him, as the bar continues to be raised to the point that he could very well be the standard for those that will come after him.
