Dylan Harper and Victor Wembanyama: A Promising Connection on the Court
The rookie Dylan Harper is quickly learning the lesson: it’s almost impossible to throw an alley-oop to Victor Wembanyama that he can’t reach. In his preseason debut with the San Antonio Spurs, Harper attempted a lob pass to Wembanyama, culminating in a two-handed dunk. This moment occurred with 44.3 seconds remaining in the first half of the game that the Spurs won 134-130 against the Utah Jazz.Harper’s alley-oop to Wembanyama was just a small detail in what seemed to be an almost perfect performance by the rookie in the first half. Harper showed a plus-minus of 22 in 12½ minutes, with 4 out of 5 shots made, totaling nine points and two assists. In the third quarter, he added another assist before definitively leaving the game with 6:23 remaining, due to a minute restriction. Played 18 minutes and finished with a plus-minus of 20.“I’m going to throw it a little higher,” Harper commented to a smiling Wembanyama, as the teammates high-fived each other on their way back to their positions.
Dylan Harper
Harper admitted that he felt nervous in his preseason debut, but he overcame them quickly. His first two assists were alley-oops to Wembanyama and Luke Kornet. Harper was also active on defense, guarding players all over the court for most of his minutes.“It’s just another step for him and his young career, as he will continue to grow,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. “Obviously, he made some plays, which, hopefully, he will feel good about. But just being able to do it in front of the fans and under the spotlight, whether it’s the plays people will talk about, when he scored, made a shot or made a good pass. Just being able to go through the team’s defense and run the court, it’s an invaluable experience”.
Mitch Johnson
Harper scored his first basket 10 seconds after entering the action, with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter, by running ahead of his defender towards the basket for a layup after an assist from Harrison Barnes. His next basket was against his former Rutgers teammate, Ace Bailey.“It’s good to be on the court with him,” Wembanyama said. “He seems ready, he already feels very comfortable throwing these kinds of passes. So I’m very confident and I’m very happy to be able to spend time on the court with him.”
Victor Wembanyama
Harper missed the Spurs’ first two preseason games as a precaution after undergoing surgery in September to repair a partially torn collateral ligament in his left thumb. Wearing a splint on his injured thumb, Harper participated in many of the club’s training camp workouts. Spurs officials wanted to limit the 19-year-old player’s exposure to contact. Harper emerged unscathed from his first preseason action, but admitted he must “change [his] brain” to accurately assess how to throw alley-oop passes to his new 7-foot-4-inch teammate.“Just being back on the court with those guys, just getting the chemistry flowing before the season starts, it felt good to play again,” Harper said. “My teammates do a great job of empowering me, and they’ll let me know what I’m doing wrong. But ultimately, they’re here to help me and I’m here to help them. Just having that confidence behind me is very helpful.”
Dylan Harper
“I should have thrown higher, much higher,” Harper said. “It’s weird. Nobody’s played with someone this tall. You go out there. You throw it and you think you threw it too high. But then he catches it and you think, ‘It’s a little low.’ So just little things like that. Just throw it where nobody else can catch it, but him.”
Dylan Harper
