SAN ANTONIO — As fans gathered outside the Victory Capital Performance Center in the sweltering heat Saturday for the “Spurs Family Cookout,” No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper delivered a message for the team’s faithful longing for San Antonio to end its six-year playoff drought.
“That’s going to change really quick,” Harper said at his introductory press conference. “We’re going to make the playoffs. I think for the Spurs fans and everyone else, our group is very exciting. There’s a lot to look forward to. The sky’s the limit for this group we’ve got.”
Assigned jersey No. 2, which was last worn in San Antonio by former Spurs Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, Harper also expressed confidence in his prospects for helping the franchise achieve NBA history. San Antonio drafted the last two winners of NBA Rookie of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.
No team has ever produced three consecutive winners of the award.
“I don’t think I feel no pressure [to win ROY], but I definitely want to keep that going,” Harper said. “That’s definitely a goal of mine. Probably my biggest goal is just getting better every day, taking it day by day, step by step, and just learning from everyone I can.”
Harper eyed a trio of sources of vast NBA knowledge dripping in championship pedigree on Friday in the middle of one of his first training sessions in San Antonio, just two days after the Spurs landed him with a top-four pick in their third consecutive draft.
“I’m working out, and I randomly see Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili,” Harper said. “That’s not something you’ll see in any other organization. Growing up, this is one of the teams you always wanted to play for. Seeing their dynasty, [you] just keep wanting to build on those banners and want to add a few more.”
Fellow first-rounder Carter Bryant, drafted No. 14 overall, is expected to help. An athletic, 3-and-D forward out of Arizona, Bryant has known Harper since their sophomore year in high school, when they faced off on the EYBL circuit.
While Harper will be the first Spur to wear No. 2 in San Antonio since Leonard’s departure, Bryant’s uncle, D’Cean, coached Leonard in high school as an assistant at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California.
“I don’t know too much about the city, but [the Spurs] ran my childhood,” Bryant said. “Growing up, I was a big fan of Kawhi. I loved Timmy D. That was my uncle’s favorite player. I just loved basketball growing up. So, everybody knew who Tony Parker, Manu, David Robinson and all those guys were. Growing up and seeing that dynasty kind of set the path for the rest of my childhood. There were a lot of great franchises that came afterwards. But they were kind of the start of it. For me to be in the position to get selected by them and being able to continue the legacy of what those before me brought is beautiful.”
Harper and Bryant will debut at the California Summer League on July 5th in San Francisco against the Miami Heat, and Harper has set a goal “to win every game we play.” Although Harper oozes confidence, general manager Brian Wright has raved about the former Rutgers star’s humility.
“I think my confidence and all that comes from all the work I’ve put in,” Harper said. “I feel like I’m one of the hardest working people out [there]. I just know how much work I put in. You’ve still got to be humble because just [as] quick as you get everything, everything can go away.”
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