Dylan Harper Receives Major Honor Ahead of Spurs-Thunder Game 2

The San Antonio Spurs played in an instant classic earlier this week, taking the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder into two overtimes, and winning Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, 122-115.

Victor Wembanyama was a huge part of that win, achieving a dominant double-double consisting of 41 points and 24 rebounds. His teammate, Stephon Castle, also had a double-double, scoring 17 points and dishing out 11 assists.

However, another major contributor was Dylan Harper, with the rookie stepping up in D’Aaron Fox’s absence due to injury and also achieving a double-double. Harper scored 24 points and hauled in 11 rebounds in the series-opening win.

The No. 2 pick received a major honor ahead of his team’s Game 2 in Oklahoma City, as the NBA named its All-Rookie Team, which included Harper among the five players.

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Along with Harper, the first team featured Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel, Philadelphia 76ers rookie V.J. Edgecombe, Memphis Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.

“Congrats on being selected to the @kia NBA All-Rookie First Team, @dy1anharper!” the Spurs wrote on X Wednesday night to celebrate their rookie.

Harper, whom the Spurs drafted last June from Rutgers, averaged 11.8 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game this past season. He became a strong reserve player off San Antonio’s bench, who many believe could’ve been a key starting contributor on other rotations.

He’s yet to achieve a breakout game when it comes to scoring, with several 24-point outings in the regular season. It seems that could be on the way as he continues to emerge as a threat on this Spurs roster.

However, this Spurs squad has established a quite talented lineup through wise draft picks, especially over the past three years, when they had the first, fourth, and second picks. With those selections, they added franchise superstar Wemby, last year’s Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, and now Harper.

All three of these players have been crucial to the Spurs’ success this past season, as they won 60 games and achieved the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. They also put the defending champs on the ropes after their first game of the WCF, which was nothing new, considering they beat them four of five times in the regular season.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 7:07 PM.