Perhaps fans can blame rapper Jay-Z for Dylan Harper and the San Antonio Spurs' NBA Finals loss to the New York Knicks in June.

In GQ's cover story, Harper talked about trying to block out Knicks megafans like Michael Rainey Jr. and Jay-Z. It didn't work, as even he acknowledged that he was distracted.

At one point, Jay-Z allegedly yelled, “Come on!” and raised his arms, forming the Roc-A-Fella diamond, which GQ likened to a “spell” being put on the team. Harper admitted, “We started losing. S**t went downhill from there.”

Obviously, the New York native Jay-Z was rooting hard for the Knicks. He did everything he could to help his team win. If Harper is to be believed, it sounds like he came through.

Harper is heading into his second season with the Spurs. He was the second overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Rutgers. During his rookie season, he played in 69 games and started four of them. In 22.6 minutes per game, he averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists.

In the playoffs, his numbers improved. He averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, playing in 23 contests and starting two of them.

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His best series was the NBA Finals against the Knicks. He averaged 18 points per game in 31 minutes per contest. He caught fire towards the end of the series, scoring 21 and 25 points in Games 4 and 5, respectively.

The Spurs will be looking to avenge the NBA Finals loss to the Knicks during the 2026-27 season. They lost in just five games, embarrassingly blowing a 29-point lead in Game 4.

Meanwhile, the Knicks won their first championship in 53 years. The last time they went to the NBA Finals was in 1999, where they lost to the Spurs in five games.

The Spurs will begin their preseason by playing the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, Oct. 8. They open the regular season by hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 20.