Dylan Harper and His Spurs Debut: An Alley-Oop and Court Chemistry Spectacle
San Antonio – Rookie Dylan Harper, draft pick number 2, has quickly learned a fundamental 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 connected on a spectacular alley-oop to Wembanyama, who finished the play with a two-handed dunk, leaving everyone speechless. The play occurred with 44.3 seconds remaining in the first half of the game that the Spurs won 134-130 against the Utah Jazz. Harper, recognizing the difficulty of the play, nodded and pointed to Wembanyama, admitting that he could have made it easier.Harper’s alley-oop to Wembanyama was just a small detail in what seemed to be a near-perfect performance by the rookie in the first half. Harper recorded an impressive plus-minus of 22 in 12 and a half minutes, with 9 points (4 of 5 in field goals) and two assists. He added another assist in the third quarter before leaving the game with 6:23 remaining, due to a minute restriction. He played 18 minutes and finished with a plus-minus of 20.“I’m going to throw it a little higher,” Harper said to a smiling Wembanyama, as both teammates high-fived each other on their way back to defense.
Dylan Harper
Harper revealed before the game that he would feel nervous in his preseason debut, but he quickly overcame them. His first two assists were alley-oops to Wembanyama and Luke Kornet. He 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, and he will continue to grow,” commented Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. “Obviously, he made some plays, and we hope he feels good about that. 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 action with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter, 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 and the number 5 pick, 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 team’s training camp practices. However, 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 “rewire his brain” to assess how to accurately throw alley-oops to his new 7-foot-4-inch teammate.Just being back on the court with those guys, solidifying the chemistry 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. Having that confidence behind me is very helpful.
Dylan Harper
“I should have thrown it higher, much higher,” Harper said. “It’s weird. Nobody has played with someone so tall. You go out there. You throw it and you think you threw it too high. But then he catches it and you’re like, ‘It’s a little low.’ So just stuff like that. Just throw it where nobody else can catch it, just him.
Dylan Harper
