{"id":344213,"date":"2026-06-20T19:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T19:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/344213\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T19:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T19:07:21","slug":"dylan-harper-expected-to-make-spurs-request-after-nba-finals-breakout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/344213\/","title":{"rendered":"Dylan Harper expected to make Spurs request after NBA Finals breakout"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NBA Finals showed that Dylan Harper can go bucket for bucket with the sport\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

And the former Rutgers star wants the Spurs to know that he\u2019s ready for an increased role at a time when some wonder about De\u2019Aaron Fox\u2019s future with the team after a dismal showing versus the Knicks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Harper\u2019s camp is expected to push for him to join the Spurs\u2019 starting rotation for the 2026-27 season after his Finals breakout following a campaign coming off the bench, according to ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dylan Harper #2 of the San Antonio Spurs dribbles the ball during the game against the New York Knicks during Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Making the situation all the more intriguing are the recent revelations that Harper had some issues with the team\u2019s plan for him after being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

Teammate Devin Vassell said after the team\u2019s series-ending Game 5 loss to the Knicks that Harper had problems with his playing time during the season.<\/p>\n

ESPN further reported that Harper \u201cvoiced displeasure\u201d earlier in the season with his role, although his minutes eventually picked up.<\/p>\n

Harper appeared in 69 games but started just four, averaging 22.6 minutes per game while scoring 11.8 points per game.<\/p>\n

He started two of the team\u2019s 23 postseason games \u2014 both with Fox sidelined \u2014 and his playing time increased to an average of 26.8 minutes per game, including 31 in the Finals.<\/p>\n

Harper averaged 14.1 points per game in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

De\u2019Aaron Fox has a miserable NBA Finals. AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was upset with playing time and different roles that he was in,\u201d Vassell said, \u201cbut when we needed him most, he stepped up. We have a star in the making.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue for Harper and the Spurs is that the team already has two starting guards in the embattled Fox and Stephon Castle.<\/p>\n

The Spurs acquired Fox before they landed Harper in the draft, and the four-year, $229 million extension they signed him to last year begins next season.<\/p>\n

Fox\u2019s stock has only gone down after the NBA Finals, which included his disastrous layup attempt in the last minute of Game 4 that resulted in an OG Anunoby block and his 3-for-15 performance in Game 5.<\/p>\n

The Spurs \u201cremain committed\u201d to Fox as their starting point guard, per ESPN, but the Finals showed that keeping Harper in a reserve role may be an issue.<\/p>\n

Fox receiving more crunch-time minutes than Harper in Game 1 drew criticism toward coach Mitch Johnson, and Harper had a sensational Game 5 while Fox couldn\u2019t hit water if he was on a boat.<\/p>\n

The issue for Harper is that there may not be much he can do except voice his frustration, since there\u2019s no chance the Spurs would trade him.<\/p>\n

Harper notably reposted a TikTok video<\/a> bashing Fox after Game 1 during the Finals.<\/p>\n

Dylan Harper scored 25 points in Game 5. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s not an issue San Antonio needs to address right away,\u201d ESPN\u2019s Michael C. Wright wrote. \u201cFox\u2019s contract won\u2019t become a potential eyesore until after (Victor) Wembanyama\u2019s upcoming rookie extension kicks in, and when the Spurs are looking next summer to extend Castle to what should be a max deal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NBA Finals showed that Dylan Harper can go bucket for bucket with the sport\u2019s best. And the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2715,3080,6537,89148,91686,6396,82,84,83,1066,154],"class_list":["post-344213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-dylan-harper","tag-nba","tag-nba-finals","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-nba-playoffs-2026","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}