After an outstanding first NBA season, Spurs security guard Dylan Harper talks about what he wants to achieve further in an interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson. Harper, a first-team all-rookie selection, said the loss to New York took a lot of the thrill out of reaching the NBA Finals. This summer he focused on rest, shooting and training as he prepares for another shot at the ring.
“I took… took a few weeks off after the season,” Harper said. “I let myself collect my thoughts. Just … evaluated the whole year plus the finals and just realized what I had to do and what I had to do for myself and for the team to get us over this hump.”
Harper started just four games as a rookie as he was stuck behind a veteran point guard De’Aaron Fox on the depth chart. Although he appears ready for a starting role, Harper dismissed any suggestion that a feud could be brewing between the two.
“Fox basically took me under his wing my whole freshman year and helped me and allowed me to grow in that space. And my thing is, we never had a problem with him.” Harper said. “…I’ve never seen a problem with playing with two or three players on the floor. Everyone said last year it wouldn’t work, this one, that one, and the third one, but I think it’s worked out pretty well this year. I think we’ve exceeded expectations by a lot. … I don’t have anything bad to say about him because, at the end of the day, he’s taught me so much. And he’s taught me so much about the league and how the Grind and it’s just… it’s the little things, like I’m close to him… every time I see his family, like he and I have a great relationship, it’s like my — I joke with him all the time, it’s like my uncle wasn’t in his position, could teach me.”
There are more from the Southwest Division:
