Dylan Harper entered the season anticipated to finish up as a top-five choose, however there’s a really actual case that he might go second general.
Heading into the 2024-2025 NCAA season, Cooper Flagg was the consensus primary general choose within the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, and that has not modified. If something, he’s exceeded the lofty expectations on his shoulders. Nonetheless, past him, there was plenty of uncertainty.
The category is completely loaded with expertise, and any top-15 choose will seemingly be a high-level younger participant, however the order had been up within the air. That’s, till Rutgers’ Dylan Harper broke out. The son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, Dylan is a high-level participant who, like Flagg, has the potential to rework whichever crew drafts him.
Nonetheless, he began the season enjoying second fiddle to teammate Ace Bailey, though he was shortly capable of surpass him as one of many best gamers in an elite draft class.
- Age/Date of Delivery: 19 (March 2, 2006)
- Nationality: American
- Peak/weight: 6-foot-6, 215lbs
- School: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Profession stats: 19.4 factors, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.4 steals, 48.4 FG%, 33.3 3PT%
- NCAA Event stats: N/A
- Profession highs: 37 factors (vs. Alabama), 12 rebounds (vs. Penn State), 12 (vs. Columbia)
- NBA comparability: 2012-13 James Harden
Harper appears just like the son of an NBA champion. Ron should have instilled successful as a pillar of his childhood, as a result of his greatest sport of the season, a 37-point sport with 11-for-19 capturing towards Alabama, was towards one of many best groups within the nation.
He had huge video games towards Notre Dame, Washington, Illinois, and USC as nicely. Whereas solely Illinois made the NCAA Event, these are nonetheless powerful opponents in any season.
He can take up and end by contact, and does his greatest scoring on the rim and within the midrange, though his exterior capturing has proven some promise. He can use his deal with to create area even in visitors, and if the skin shot comes, we are able to change our professional comparability from first-time All-Star James Harden to his 2018 MVP season.
Exterior of scoring, he’s an adept and bodily defender. His protection gained’t be his calling card, however he appears to know the adage that protection wins championships. He’s additionally a strong passer, though when he will get the ball, he’s seeking to rating.
Since he isn’t seeking to go as a lot as NBA scouts will like, typically he dribbles himself into conditions the place he simply can’t escape, highlighted by his seven video games with extra turnovers than assists.
For a 6-foot-6 outsized guard, his rebounding is just not nice, however that might be as a result of he’s seeking to streak up the ground. At 19 years previous, it’s uncommon to discover a excellent prospect, and his rebounding and tunnel imaginative and prescient are the most important flaws.
His shot choice can be shaky, particularly off the dribble, though an NBA offseason ought to be capable of repair that subject, and whichever crew drafts him will need him to shoot an excessive amount of versus too little.
Harper, at his core, is a slasher, which is why he was in comparison with a younger James Harden as a substitute of the trigger-happy isolation scorer from later years in his profession. Nonetheless, a younger James Harden would match on just about any crew, and Harper isn’t any exception.
Barring a large shock, one of the best match for Harper proper now’s “whoever has the second choose.” Chances are high, he gained’t be obtainable a lot later than that, no matter who picks.
The Utah Jazz can be a strong match, and including Harper would enable them to commerce Collin Sexton for a greater match subsequent to Lauri Markkanen.
The San Antonio Spurs would even be a strong match, though anybody would slot in nicely subsequent to Victor Wembanyama.
The one crew close to the highest of the draft that he wouldn’t slot in rather well with is probably going the Washington Wizards. Between Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington, Washington already has loads of younger on-ball gamers, and their depth chart can be stretched with the addition of Harper, though the franchise might actually use an injection of the Harper successful mentality.
