Dylan Harper drops a truth bomb on SA’s three-headed monster

Spurs rookie Dylan Harper he is not enjoying the best statistical season by an NBA rookie. Not by a long shot. But, thanks in part Stephen Castle and De’Aaron Fox – as well as Victor Vembanyama – is enjoying the most successful season of any featured rookie. From a distance.

“We’re hard to scout, with three dynamic guards. I think when Fox and Steph start the game, we have two of the best guards in the NBA,” Harper said. “And I think when I come off the bench, I think it’s just another weapon that we have. So I think it opens up the floor for everybody, including Vic. And I think when Vic has all that pressure on him and two people going to him, it just opens up the world for us.”

At 11 points per game, Harper ranks seventh on the team in scoring. Playing 22 minutes a night, the second overall pick in last summer’s draft has far fewer subjects than Castle and Fox. The reigning Rookie of the Year is averaging 16.6 points in 29.7 minutes, while two-time NBA All-Star Fox is scoring a team-high 19 on the night in 31.6 minutes of action.

“I think we can all score from all sides. That’s the beauty of this team. We can all dribble the ball,” Harper added, extending praise to his teammates.

“We have a ton of ball handlers and a ton of shooters. So every night is going to be a big night,” Harper continued. “Just for us as a collective group, just to come and help as much as we can, it’s great for us.”

Victor Vembanyama praises Castle Stephon

While all are dynamic offensively, Harper, Castle and Fox have every aspect of their game where they do better than the other two. Fox is the best three-point shooter. Harper may be the best at getting to the rim. I Castle is easily the best defender of the group.

“He understood his role very well,” Vembanyama said. “The level he’s playing at is really unprecedented for a second-year player and how he fits into our game plan.”

Nicknamed “Area 51” as a nod to their jersey numbers and Vembanjama’s “Alien” nickname, Wemby and Castle form one of the NBA’s deadliest defensive pairings.

I know we make it difficult, we make it uncomfortable for people to play against us,” Vembanyama said. “That’s the goal because a guy has to dribble around one of the best defenders on the ball and then he has to shoot against some of the best defenders on the rim; it’s very difficult.”

Dylan Harper soaks up Spurs’ success

While Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel lead the Rookie of the Year discussion, Harper will likely still play this spring when he doesn’t.

“It feels great,” Harper said of the Spurs’ success. “I think this is the most I’ve won in a long time. So just having this streak and just building off of that and not taking teams for granted, I think is a big thing for us.”

Thanks to former Rutgers star Fox and Castle, The Spurs are currently the second seed in the West. Their position is much closer to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top than the teams behind them.