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Dylan Harper became just the 3rd rookie in Finals history to score 10+ points in any quarter in the play-by-play era (since 1998).<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a> SAN ANTONIO \u2014 In his very short time with the San Antonio Spurs, he has already developed a rare talent which sets him apart from most of his peers, and it is this: He can stir the imagination of thousands.<\/p>\n This is the typical reaction inside Frost Bank Center whenever Dylan Harper does something age-defying, which happens regularly now, the latest in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals<\/a> \u2014 on the biggest stage \u2014 when he dropped a layup while nearly twisting himself into a Twizzler to avoid defenders.<\/p>\n It was both an athletic and daring play by the 6-foot-6 guard, and the breathless response no doubt among those who marveled at it was this:<\/p>\n He\u2019s just a rookie?<\/p>\n And he\u2019s only 20?<\/p>\n Yes, given those details, these witnesses are understandably caught up in the player\u2019s potential more than the present, although there is one person in attendance who does nothing except shrug. That\u2019s because what we\u2019re seeing from Harper now, and what we suspect we\u2019ll get from him in the future, is nothing new to the father who knew.<\/p>\n \u201cA long time ago,\u201d said Ron Harper, matter of factly, \u201cwhen he was probably 12. Because he loved the game, that\u2019s how I could tell. He loved to play, always had a basketball in his hands since he was two.\u201d<\/p>\n Ron Harper is a reliable source not only because, obviously, he\u2019s a \u201cproud dad, super proud\u201d as he says, but also a five-time champion with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. That combo makes him a ball-knower, more qualified than most fathers when it comes to projecting a son\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n As a player, Dylan already checks more boxes than an Amazon worker. Good size, solid skills, very coachable, blends well with teammates, stretchy shooting range, strong finisher at the rim and energetic defender.<\/p>\n But, and this is most attractive, at 20 he\u2019s hardly a finished product.<\/p>\n His father\u2019s scouting report is this: \u201cHis game is not weak. He plays hard. And he knows how to play. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a weak part of his game. Got an all-around game. He\u2019s just as proud of being a defensive player as he is a scorer. He just needs more repetition.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, the \u201cweakest\u201d part of his game is his age. He\u2019s not as good now as everyone projects him to be very soon.<\/p>\n But, what about now? He was the Spurs\u2019 best player through much of Game 1. Imagine, a rookie setting the tone, scoring 12 of his 16 points (with six rebounds and a 12 plus-minus) in the first half, causing the New York Knicks to tweak their game plan. He became the youngest player to score double digits in a Finals game and his 251 playoff points surpassed David Robinson\u2019s rookie total with the Spurs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Association speaks on rookie Dylan Harper’s great Game 1 of the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t a rookie\u2019s knees supposed to knock when he\u2019s tossed into the flame of the championship round and asked to produce?<\/p>\n The Finals aren\u2019t sympathetic toward rookies, or even heavily populated by them, mainly because the best tend to play for the worst teams and therefore never get the chance. The ultimate exception: Magic Johnson, with his epic 42-point performance for the Lakers in the 1980 clincher; he\u2019s the only rookie Finals MVP.<\/p>\n But no Finals rookie of any significance was as young as Harper, who was still a teenager at the All-Star break.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first year in the league and being at the Finals is a blessing,\u201d Dylan said. \u201cI feel like this is every kid\u2019s dream, every basketball player\u2019s dream.\u201d<\/p>\n It certainly was his father\u2019s dream once Ron Harper in mid-career joined Michael Jordan. Suddenly it became realistic. Harper entered the league as a scorer; he was the 1987 Rookie of the Year who averaged 22.9 points. Then he gradually morphed into a tenacious defender and, alongside Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, made life hell for the team on the other bench.<\/p>\n That experience with the Bulls, and later with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O\u2019Neal with the Lakers, gave Harper immeasurable championship tales and know-all to pass down to Dylan prior to the 2026 Finals.<\/p>\n \u201cMe and my dad talk here and there,\u201d said Dylan. \u201cHe gave me little tips about the Finals and things like that, but ultimately you\u2019ve got to experience it on your own to kind of know how to navigate through it.\u201d<\/p>\n When Ron Harper talks basketball and kids, he always mentions two \u2014 Dylan and Ron Jr., the older brother who finished this season with the Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they were younger both wanted to play in the NBA. I said, \u2018OK, work hard at it, stay positive and don\u2019t let nobody discourage you. Because everybody\u2019s going to compare you to what I did.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI would\u2019ve been fine if they chose to do something else in life, as long as they did something positive. But they wanted to play in the NBA. That was their dream, not mine, since they were small. And they wanted to play in the NBA at the same time, and here they are. Hey, stuff happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Both were also schooled on basketball by their mom, Maria, who coached both of their high school teams as an assistant. And as the younger brother, Dylan also had the advantage of being developed by an older brother and of course, a father who saw the drive very early.<\/p>\n \u201cWe competed in everything,\u201d Ron Harper said. \u201cLike Wiffle ball. I would throw them the ball and they wanted me to throw it harder. I\u2019d ask them, you really want me to throw it fast? \u2018Throw harder, dad.\u2019 They would always compete in everything, against each other, against me. That\u2019s how they learned how not to be scared of nothing, no situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Even as adults, the competition continues, mainly outside of basketball.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are close friends, they hang out, talk a lot, love to play video games,\u201d said the father. \u201cI guarantee you after Game 1, Dylan went to the house, Ronald was probably already on the game console and they sat there and played until 2-3 o\u2019clock in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n His sons were just vaguely aware of what he once did for a living; they didn\u2019t come of age until after Harper retired. He never played old videos of his games while at home, so they learned from school mainly, from friends \u2014 and their fathers \u2014 who explained just how accomplished Ron Harper was in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a while, they heard it so much that they wanted to be as good as me,\u201d Ron Harper said. \u201cAnd I always told them that I hoped they would strive to be better than me. Don\u2019t be me, be better than what I was. Be great at it.\u201d<\/p>\n When the Spurs-Knicks series began, the father reminded his son of that message and had a request for him and his brother:<\/p>\n \u201cI want them to win more championships than me. That\u2019s the goal I set. Win more than me.\u201d<\/p>\n Dylan Harper has a chance to creep within four, here in his first season. Much like his father rode shotgun to Jordan, it helps that Dylan is with Victor Wembanyama, who\u2019s just two years older. Common basketball sense says Dylan will have multiple chances at championships because, well, there\u2019s a tendency to project his future, with good reason.<\/p>\n Dylan played just four minutes in the fourth quarter of Game 1, when the Knicks made their victorious rally, and it would come as a surprise if he\u2019s on the bench again in such a situation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Dylan Harper talks with the media ahead of Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like everyone wants to be out there in those times and to close the game out,\u201d Dylan said. \u201cBut we won 62 games, we made it this far. So I\u2019m going to keep trusting in the coaching staff, trusting in (coach) Mitch (Johnson) and just having that trust, knowing that they know what\u2019s best for the team. And if they think that\u2019s the best thing for the team and that helps us win the most, I\u2019m all for it. Obviously, you want to be out there, but ain\u2019t nothing to hang my head on.\u201d<\/p>\n Ron Harper said: \u201cIt was a tough game, the Knicks played hard. He played great that day, but you know we need the whole team to play. Like I told him, stay positive. He joined a great organization.\u201d<\/p>\n When a 20-year-old can deliver as he did in his first NBA Finals and strike the imagination of everyone who witnessed it, then yes, Dylan Harper has a chance to catch his father.<\/p>\n But five championships is a steep number. He\u2019ll need to get started. It\u2019s not about the future for a rookie, in that regard. It\u2019s about now.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been around the game for a long damn time,\u201d said the father. \u201cThat\u2019s why he\u2019s not your normal 20-year-old kid. He has an edge to him that he doesn\u2019t show. He loves to work on his game. He knows what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at\u00a0spowell@nba.com<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dylan Harper became just the 3rd rookie in Finals history to score 10+ points in any quarter in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[297799,355,99],"class_list":["post-684953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-dylan-harper-ron-harper-nba-finals-spurs","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u2022\u00a0Complete coverage: 2026 NBA Finals<\/a><\/p>\n