San Antonio – Dylan Harper, the second draft pick, has learned an important 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 for Wembanyama to perform a two-handed dunk; this occurred in the first half of the game that the Spurs won 134-130 against the Utah Jazz.Harper nodded and pointed to Wembanyama, acknowledging that he might have made the play more difficult than necessary.
The Harper pass to Wembanyama was just a small error in what appeared to be a near-perfect performance for the rookie in the first half. He recorded a plus-minus of 22 in 12 and a half minutes, going 4-of-5 from the field for nine points and two assists. Harper added another assist in the third quarter before definitively exiting with 6:23 remaining due to a minutes restriction.Played 18 minutes and finished with a plus-minus of 20.I’m going to throw a little higher
Harper
Harper also said he would feel nerves in his preseason debut. However, he quickly shook them off. Harper threw alley-oops to Wembanyama and Luke Kornet for his first two assists. 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, hopefully, he will feel good about. But just being able to do it in front of the fans and under the bright lights, whether it’s the plays that 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 down the court, it’s an invaluable experience.
Mitch Johnson, Spurs Coach
Harper scored his first basket 10 seconds after entering action with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter, running alongside his defender on a play towards the basket for a layup after an assist from Harrison Barnes. Harper showed off against his former Rutgers teammate and fifth pick, Ace Bailey, for his next basket.It’s good to be on the court with him. He seems ready, already 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.
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 practices.But Spurs officials wanted to limit the 19-year-old player’s exposure to contact.Harper emerged from his first preseason action physically unscathed, but admitted he must “change [his] brain” to assess how to accurately connect with his new 7-foot-4-inch teammate on alley-oop passes.Just being back on the court with those guys, just getting the chemistry flowing 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.
Harper
I should have thrown higher, much higher. 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 say, “It’s a little low.” So things like that. Just throw it where nobody else can catch it, only him.
Harper
