NBA Draft 2025: Teams React to Picks and Grades

SAN ANTONIO — As fans gathered outside the Victory Capital Performance Center in the sweltering heat Saturday for the “Spurs Family Cookout,” No. 2 pick Dylan Harper delivered a message for the team’s faithful longing for San Antonio to end its six-year playoff drought. “That’s going to change really quick,” Harper said at his introductory news conference. “We’re going to make the playoffs. I think for the Spurs fans and everyone else, our group is very exciting. There’s a lot to look forward to. The sky’s the limit for this group we’ve got.”

Assigned jersey No. 2, which was last worn in San Antonio by former Spurs Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, Harper also expressed confidence in his prospects for helping the franchise achieve NBA history. San Antonio drafted the last two NBA Rookie of the Year winners in Tim Duncan and David Robinson. No team ever has produced three consecutive winners of the award.

“I don’t think I feel no pressure [to win ROY], but I definitely want to keep that going,” Harper said. “That’s definitely a goal of mine. Probably my biggest goal is just getting better every day, taking it day by day, step by step, and just learning from everyone I can.”

Fellow first-rounder Carter Bryant, drafted No. 14, is expected to help. An athletic, 3-and-D forward out of Arizona, Bryant has known Harper since their sophomore year in high school, when they faced off on the EYBL circuit. Bryant’s uncle, D’Cean, coached Leonard when he was an assistant at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California.

“I don’t know too much about the city, but [the Spurs] ran my childhood,” Bryant said. “Growing up, I was a big fan of Kawhi. I loved Timmy D. That was my uncle’s favorite player. I just loved basketball growing up. So, everybody knew who Tony Parker, Manu, David Robinson and all those guys were. Growing up and seeing that dynasty kind of set the path for the rest of my childhood. There were a lot of great franchises that came afterwards. But they were kind of the start of it. For me to be in the position to get selected by them and being able to continue the legacy of what those before me brought is beautiful.”

Harper and Bryant will debut at the California Summer League on July 5 in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors, and Harper has set a goal “to win every game we play.” General manager Brian Wright has praised Harper’s humility. “I think my confidence and all that comes from all the work I’ve put in,” said Harper. “I just know how much work I put in. You’ve still got to be humble because just [as] quick as you get everything, everything can go away.”