Dylan Harper has put an end to speculation surrounding his role with the San Antonio Spurs, making it clear he has no issue coming off the bench as he enters his second NBA season.
Rumors circulated throughout the offseason suggesting Harper was unhappy with his reserve role and wanted to move into the starting lineup. However, the speculation originated from a parody social media account before being widely shared online. Harper has now addressed the topic directly in an interview with DJ Siddiqi of RG.org.
When asked whether it mattered if he started games or continued leading the second unit, Harper made it clear his focus is elsewhere.
“No, I feel like regardless, I’m in the NBA,” Harper said to DJ Siddiqi of RG.org. “There’s only like 450 people in the NBA, and I get a chance to go on the court and play with the best of the best. I feel like those kinds of things and those logistics at the end of the day, in the big scheme of things, it’s not going to affect me and how I approach every day.”
Rather than focusing on personal milestones, Harper said the Spurs are driven by one objective after falling short in the NBA Finals.
“Nah, man,” Harper said. “I feel like the biggest thing for me in every year is really just getting better every day, learning from the people around me and learning from my own experiences and just trying not to make the same mistakes over and over again. But for me, it’s not really just anything personal. I feel like we all have that one team goal that we felt like that we should have had last year. I feel like that’s really the only thing on that. That’s the only thing that’s on everyone’s mind.”
Harper also reflected on what San Antonio learned from its Finals defeat, believing the experience will help the group moving forward. The former lottery pick has also praised Victor Wembanyama’s leadership after the Spurs star reportedly accepted less than the maximum on his latest contract extension.
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