San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper lofted an alley-oop to Victor Wembanyama for a two-handed slam with 44.3 seconds left in the first half of Friday night’s 134-130 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz.
Spurs’ Dylan Harper Played 18 Minutes Against Jazz
Harper, an early NBA Rookie of the Year candidate after going No. 2 overall in this year’s draft, registered a game-best plus-minus of 22 over 12½ minutes, and finished 4-of-5 shooting for nine points with two assists.
The former Rutgers star added one more dime in the third quarter before checking out for good with 6:23 remaining due to a minutes restriction.
Dylan Harper finds Wemby for the alley-oop 🤯
WHAT. A. PASS. pic.twitter.com/bPB0zoj2nn
— NBA (@NBA) October 11, 2025
all the angles 🤩 https://t.co/cOrOGiTRWE pic.twitter.com/gnmXWtWrDA
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 11, 2025
Dylan Harper played 18 minutes and finished with a plus-minus of 20.
The 19-year-old completed an alley-oop to Wembanyama and followed that up with a pass near the rim to Luke Kornet for his first two assists.
“It is good to be on the court with him,” Wembanyama said. “He looks ready, very comfortable already throwing these kinds of passes. So, I’m very confident and I’m very happy to be able to spend some time on the court with him.”
Harper Scored His First Basket Mid-Way Through First Quarter
Harper scored his first bucket 10 seconds after checking into the action with 6:12 left in the opening quarter after running past his defender on a cut to the basket for a layup off an assist from Harrison Barnes.
“Just being back out on the court with them guys, just getting the chemistry going before the season starts, it just felt good to play again,” Harper said.
“My teammates do a great job of empowering me, and they’re going to let me know what I do wrong. But ultimately, they’re here to help me out and I’m here to help them out. Just having that confidence behind me is very helpful.”
Harper admitted after the game that he will likely have to “flip [my] brain” in gauging how to accurately hit his new 7-foot-5 teammate on alley-oop passes.
“I should’ve [thrown] higher, a lot higher,” Harper said. “It’s weird. Ain’t no one ever played with someone that tall. You get out there. You throw it up and you think you threw it too high. But then he catches it and you’re like, ‘It’s a little too low.’ So, [it’s] just little things like that. Just throw where no one else can get it but him.”
Harper Was Nervous Ahead Of NBA Preseason Debut
Harper said he had “first-game jitters” while at shootaround, but it didn’t take long for him to adjust to playing in front of NBA fans. His exhibition outing should be a confidence booster for the New Jersey native.
“It’s just another step for him and his young career as he’s going to continue to grow. Obviously, he made some plays, which hopefully he’ll feel good about,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.
“But just to be able to do it in front of fans and in the bright lights, whether it was the plays that people will talk about when he scored, made a shot, or made a good pass. Just to be able to go through team defense and run the floor, it is just invaluable experience.”
Harper sat out the Spurs’ first two preseason games as a precautionary measure after undergoing surgery in September to repair a partially torn collateral ligament in his left thumb.
San Antonio visits the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 22 to open its 2025-26 season.
/SI202601151081.webp?ssl=1 "Racing Bulls showcase 2026 livery at launch event in Detroit")
