Heading into his rookie year, Dylan Harper doesn’t just know there’s a very good chance he may be coming off the bench; he’s completely fine with it.
Throughout NBA history, we’ve seen some incredibly impactful players come off the bench to provide valuable, and in some cases even crucial, game-changing minutes.
While for San Antonio Spurs fans, Manu Ginobili is the first name to come to mind, Harper name-dropped future Hall of Famer James Harden while speaking about the possibility of coming off the bench during an appearance on Carmelo Anthony’s 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast this summer:
“You’re not going to get the keys all day. James Harden was with the Thunder and came off the bench sixth man for 3-4 years waiting for his turn so everyone gotta wait for they, turn. So that’s kind of how I looked at it.”
From the sounds of things, that sort of selfless, team-first attitude has won over Spurs fans, who flooded the comments praising Harper’s mature take on things.
Looking at the San Antonio Spurs’ Projected Depth Chart
Heading into the 2025-26 season, the San Antonio Spurs are preparing to begin the year with a roster that’s nearly identical to last season.
While the team will be without future Hall of Famer Chris Paul and backup center Sandro Mamukelashvili, the franchise has made several notable offseason acquisitions.
In late June, the team signed Celtics big man Luke Kornet to a four-year $40.7 million deal, before then acquiring veteran front-court standout Kelly Olynyk via trade.
Ahead of the start of training camp, this is what the Spurs’ depth chart is looking like.
| Position | Starter | 2nd | 3rd |
| PG | De’Aaron Fox | Jordan McLaughlin | |
| SG | Stephon Castle | Dylan Harper | Lindy Waters III |
| SF | Devin Vassell | Keldon Johnson | Carter Bryant |
| PF | Harrison Barnes | Jeremy Sochan | Julian Champagnie |
| C | Victor Wembanyama | Luke Kornett | Kelly Olynyk |
Dylan Harper Ranked as the Second-Best Rookie in NBA 2k26
After being picked second overall int he 2025 NBA Draft, Dylan Harper has fittingly been rated as the second-best rookie in NBA 2k26 ahead of the game’s release next month.
While ratings are subject to change throughout the year based on player performance, Dylan Harper will be starting the year as a 78 overall, behind only No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, who landed at 82 overall.
While 2k has yet to drop full player ratings for individual stat categories, you can see the top-10 rookies in NBA 2k26 below:
- Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks): 82 OVR
- Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs): 78 OVR
- Ace Bailey (Utah Jazz): 77 OVR
- VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers): 76 OVR
- Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets): 75 OVR
- Tre Johnson (Washington Wizards): 75 OVR
- Khaman Maluach (Phoenix Suns): 74 OVR
- Jeremiah Fears (New Orleans Pelicans): 73 OVR
- Egor Demin (Brooklyn Nets): 72 OVR
- Collin Murray-Boyles (Toronto Raptors): 72 OVR
If Dylan Harper is able to impress throughout his rookie year, there’s a very real chance that he winds up joining Flagg as an 80+ overall.
San Antonio’s preseason will tip off on Oct. 8, before the 2025-26 regular season tips-off for Harper and the Spurs on Oct. 22.
With a new era of Spurs basketball upon us, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Dylan Harper Reacts to Possibly Coming Off the Bench appeared first on Heavy Sports.