San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper had surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his left thumb on Friday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
Harper, 19, sustained the injury during a workout Wednesday. By having the surgery quickly, he is expected to recover in time for the Spurs’ season opener on Oct. 22 versus the Dallas Mavericks and No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg.
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A 6-foot-5 guard from Rutgers, Harper was one of two first-round picks (selected No. 2 overall) by the Spurs this year. The other was forward Carter Bryant (the No. 14 selection) out of Arizona.
Yahoo Sports’ NBA Draft analyst Kevin O’Connor said Harper would have been the top pick this year if not for Flagg.
“He’s a big-bodied lefty combo guard who has a high floor with the skill, poise and playmaking instincts to dictate the game at his pace,” O’Connor wrote. “Now that he’ll be sharing shot-creation responsibilities in San Antonio, he’ll be able to use his 6-foot-11 wingspan to greater effect on the defensive end and also utilize his bruising interior finishing as a cutter on offense. But he made only 36.8% of his catch-and-shoot 3s and just 28.7% of his dribble jumpers, so his fit with De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle is a question.”
In his lone season with the Scarlet Knights, Harper averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4 assists per game while shooting 33% on his 3-point attempts. He played two games with the Spurs’ Summer League team and scored 16 points per game, averaging 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Harper was likely to begin the 2025-26 season as a reserve on a San Antonio squad that’s already stocked in the backcourt with De’Aaron Fox (who recently signed a four-year, $229 million max extension) and last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle.
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The rest of the Spurs’ starting lineup is expected to include 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama at center with Devin Vassell and Harrison Barnes at forward. Wembanyama is expected to be ready for training camp after his season ended in February with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
