Rookie Dylan Harper has learned a valuable lesson: it’s nearly 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 that ignited the crowd. The play occurred with 44.3 seconds remaining in the first half of the game, in the Spurs’ 134-130 victory over the Utah Jazz. After the spectacular play, Harper and Wembanyama exchanged a few words. “I’m going to throw it a little higher,” Harper told Wembanyama, as they shook hands. The alley-oop was just a small detail in what seemed to be a near-perfect performance by Harper in the first half. The player recorded a plus-minus of 22 in 12 and a half minutes, with 4 out of 5 shots made for nine points and two assists. Harper added another assist in the third quarter before definitively leaving the game with 6:23 remaining, due to a minute restriction. Harper played 18 minutes and finished with a plus-minus of 20.
Harper revealed that he felt nervous before the game, but quickly got rid of them. In his first two assists, he threw 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. Obviously, he made some plays, which we hope will make him feel good. But just being able to do it in front of the fans and under the bright lights, 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, Spurs coach
It’s good to be on the court with him. He seems ready, he already feels very comfortable throwing these kinds of passes. So I’m very confident and very happy to be able to spend time on the court with him.
Victor WembanyamaHarper scored his first basket 10 seconds after entering the action, with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter. He did it after beating his defender and scoring a layup after an assist from Harrison Barnes. Then, he beat Ace Bailey for his next basket.Harper missed the first two preseason games as a precaution after undergoing surgery in September to repair a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb. Despite wearing a splint on his injured thumb, Harper participated in many of the team’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” when evaluating how to throw precise alley-oop passes to his new 7-foot-4-inch teammate. “I should have [thrown] higher, much higher,” Harper said. “It’s strange. 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 say, ‘It’s a little too low.’ So it’s little things like that. Just throw it where nobody else can catch it, only him.”Just being back on the court with those guys, just making the chemistry work before the season starts, it felt good to play again. 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
