The duo shared significant time on the court in the third and fourth quarter to earn San Antonio a victory that flipped the first-round series in its favor.<\/p>\n
With six minutes left in the game, Bryant drove on Avdija, attracted a double-team and dished the ball out to Devin Vassell. After Vassell swished the 3-pointer to take a 12-point lead, Bryant couldn\u2019t help but throw his fist through the air and scream at his bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the closest thing you get to being on the court, is to see those two young men attack the game,\u201d Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the victory. \u201cWe just kept working, and at some point, we had enough things going our way. We got in attack mode … those two young men were leading the charge and it was fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m46742tws9y141cc86.jpg\" "\\"San")
<\/p>\n
Apr 24, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant (11) shoots the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half during Game 3 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
A glance at the minutes log for the entire run to the NBA Finals presents a pair of\u00a0 intriguing juxtapositions. Ahead of Keldon Johnson, the seven-year veteran, reigning Sixth Man of the Year and longest-tenured current Spur, sits Harper. Ahead of Harrison Barnes, 14-year veteran with 71 playoff games under his belt, sits Bryant. <\/p>\n
Two of the Spurs\u2019 top nine contributors in the 2026 playoffs joined the team less than a year before the postseason began. The Spurs played youth over leadership, and Harper especially met the moment as San Antonio extended its season into June for the first time since 2014. <\/p>\n
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft averaged 18 points per game in 31 minutes in the NBA Finals, and played the seventh-most rookie minutes in a playoff run in NBA history.<\/p>\n
After the Spurs\u2019 season-ending Game 5 Finals loss<\/a>, Mitch Johnson was asked to reflect on Harper\u2019s success in his first NBA season. Johnson swiftly changed the conversation to position Bryant\u2019s impact alongside Harper.<\/p>\n \u201cI am really proud of (Dylan) and Carter,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThey trusted the program and allowed us to educate them on corporate knowledge … we saw their talent. They\u2019re playing in the NBA Finals guarding MVPs in Anthony Edwards, et cetera … very proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n To the organization\u2019s credit, the Spurs don\u2019t surprise NBA fans when they draft a great player. Victor Wembanyama earned the franchise\u2019s third NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2024, joining David Robinson and Tim Duncan. But the Spurs outdid themselves in drafting a duo of high-impact rookies in the same NBA Draft. <\/p>\n Due to their projected excellence in the coming years, the Spurs hope to be drafting late in the first round for a long time. The organization hit a home run in their final at-bat before its return to superpower status.\u00a0<\/p>\n Harper showed signs of early greatness immediately, dropping 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting against the Brooklyn Nets in his third-ever NBA game. Harper was also the go-to choice in a December battle when the Spurs were down by one point with 14 seconds left against the New Orleans Pelicans. <\/p>\n Missing Wembanyama, Harper shouldered the scoring duties and drove inside for a game-winning layup. The rookie casually fought off Saddiq Bey and flipped the ball off the glass to secure the win and avenge the recent offensive slump he’d been in.<\/p>\n “In the beginning of the year, I was a little iffy, a little hesitant,” Harper said that night, “but as the season kept on going, my teammates and coaches … just encouraged me to be me.”<\/p>\n Dec 8, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) drives to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen (22) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n After starting off slow, Bryant earned a steady increase in minutes throughout his rookie season. The rookie\u2019s playing time died down in the later rounds of the playoffs, and the limited minutes placed a greater emphasis on every play Bryant executed on the court. <\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m4678hy8rp7b7cm9mj.jpg\" "\\"San")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Add us as a preferred source on Google