Feb. 13, 2026, 6:42 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Dylan Harper has emerged as one of the top rookies this season with the San Antonio Spurs<\/a>, and the guard credited his teammates for his early on-court success.<\/p>\n Harper is averaging 10.9 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 46.7% from the field in 43 appearances with the Spurs. He ranks fifth among all rookies in assists and is one of 10 first-year players with at least five 20-point performances.<\/p>\n The second overall pick has emerged as a key bench player for coach Mitch Johnson, with his dynamic scoring and defensive potential. He has formed a strong rotation with the likes of De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle and believes the group is dangerous.<\/p>\n “Our chemistry is great,” Harper said Friday before the Rising Stars Game<\/a>. “I think my confidence is at an all-time high just because I got them, plus everyone else empowering me when I get in the game to just do what I do. It has been great. Obviously, we all play the same position, but I think we all do different things that make it so special. When you’re on the floor with four ballhandlers, it is pretty hard to beat.”<\/p>\n Harper entered the season with high expectations as a high lottery pick out of Rutgers.\u00a0He has seemingly fit in well with the group on and off the court and has benefited from a strong group of veterans around him, like Fox, Harrison Barnes, Luke Kornet and Devin Vassell.<\/p>\n Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n The 19-year-old has commended his teammates throughout the season for providing feedback and offering advice as he navigates an 82-game schedule for the first time. He is grateful to land with an organization that has made the transition from the college ranks seamless.<\/p>\n Harper was among the 28 players selected to the Rising Stars Game<\/a>, along with Castle and Carter Bryant. He will also participate in the Shooting Stars<\/a> event on Saturday with his father and brother, and is excited to take in the festivities with those closest to him.<\/p>\n “I mean, having everyone here definitely helps, familiar faces around,” Harper said. “First All-Star Weekend that I’m participating in, I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Being here, in this spotlight, is a great feeling.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feb. 13, 2026, 6:42 p.m. ET Dylan Harper has emerged as one of the top rookies this season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[72400,7,6,969,474,4075,4074,534,72761,72762,72404,72405,72643,72406,72403],"class_list":{"0":"post-601884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-san-antonio","12":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","13":"tag-sanantonio","14":"tag-sanantoniospurs","15":"tag-spurs","16":"tag-sstssportsnbarookie","17":"tag-sstsnrookie","18":"tag-tagbasketball","19":"tag-tagoverall-positive","20":"tag-tagsan-antonio-spurs","21":"tag-tagsports-news","22":"tag-typestory"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}