Spurs’ Dylan Harper’s ‘scary’ admission of San Antonio’s backcourt

San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper came within two points of tying his NBA career high in a 123-113 victory over the Indiana Pacers. It marked the third time in less than four weeks that the former Rutgers star scored at least 22 points.

Maybe, more notably though, for one of the few times this season, Harper shared the court at the same time with Spurs stars De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.

“It’s scary, I think. We all kind of have the same ability to get to the rim at ease, but we also have the same ability to pass out of it and just make the right play,” Harper said about all three guards sharing the court. “So, I think all three of us aren’t selfish, and I think that carries us a long way.”

Finding that balance pic.twitter.com/MHBBTLbg3F

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 3, 2026

Because of injuries, the trio has been healthy for less than a month this season, which started in late October. Fox was out for the first couple of weeks with a hamstring issue. Just as he was set to return, Harper suffered a calf strain in early November. Later in the month, Castle missed a couple of games because of injury.

It wasn’t until December 8 that all three were available at the same time. A December 16 match-up for the NBA Cup championship marked the first time the three guards played at the same time, albeit for just a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter of a game that got away from the against the New York Knicks.

Dylan Harper and the Spurs await Victor Wembanyama’s return

Since that loss to the Knicks, Fox has missed a game. Otherwise, the Spurs’ three-headed monster has remained intact. Now, it’s their anchor they’re without. After suffering a knee hyperextension on New Year’s Eve, Victor Wembanyama is day-to-day and has missed the team’s two games since.

“Luke is playing like one of the ones,” Harper said of backup center Luke Kornet. “Luke is Luke. I don’t think in my time being here, I’ve seen a lot of people match up with Luke and Luke not winning the match-up.”

At the same time, Harper admitted the shift that the guards, and the team as a whole, have to make without their generational talent.

“You do have to get mentally prepared because it’s a big part, but just going out there with the mindset of just being yourself, and I think that’s where for me is the biggest adjustment,” Harper said.

Harper’s 22-point outing in Indianapolis helped fill the void left by Wemby’s absence. The performance came two weeks after a career-high 24 points. The aforementioned December 8 game marked the first time he scored 22. For the season, he’s averaging 11.9 points to go along with just under four assists and nearly three and a half rebounds while playing less than 22 minutes per contest.

He’s done a very good job of aiding a young core that many expected would be improved from last year’s 34-win club. His assimilation with Castle and Fox could determine just how far the Spurs end up going.

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