How Mitch Johnson plans to make use of second-year guard Dylan Harper this season after his dynamic efficiency within the playoff ranks as one of many largest story traces heading into the beginning of coaching camp on Tuesday.
The Spurs coach did not shed a lot mild on the subject at media day Monday, however he did reveal he desires Harper and the workforce’s different two rim-attacking guards, All-Star De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Fort, on the court docket collectively extra this season.
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“I see all three of them enjoying collectively,” Johnson mentioned. “I do not know the definition of ‘much more,’ however I feel greater than we did within the common season (in 2025-26) for positive.”
Harper got here off the bench final season whereas Fox and Fort began, however many observers imagine he ought to have an even bigger function this season after his sturdy play in opposition to New York within the Finals. The No. 2 general decide of the 2025 NBA Draft scored 21 factors off the bench in Recreation 4 in opposition to the Knicks to grow to be the youngest participant at age 20 years and 100 days outdated to attain 20-plus factors in NBA historical past.
Harper adopted up that efficiency by scoring 25 factors in Recreation 5. The Spurs, nevertheless misplaced each video games as they fell to New York in 5 video games.
“Everybody has a aggressive edge to them, however the largest factor for me is no matter I can do similar to final 12 months to assist the workforce win, and no matter place that each one the coaches assume is finest for me to be in, that is the place I’ve going,” he mentioned. “So no matter occurs this 12 months, simply know that ain’t going to be no unhealthy nothing for me. I am at all times going to remain constructive and I am at all times going to be on the forefront of simply conserving the workforce collectively.”
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Fox mentioned he is all in on Johnson’s plan to play him, Harper and Fort collectively extra.
“I undoubtedly count on to see it extra,” he mentioned.
Fort downplayed hypothesis about who will begin, calling it “just about all outdoors noise for us.”
“Whoever begins, whoever would not begin, all of us begin collectively, I feel we’ll be tremendous both means,” he mentioned. “I really feel like we’re three high-level guards which might be fairly unselfish that may contact the paint each time. And, yeah, I feel simply with the ability to play off one another as a lot as we will, whether or not we have now to have two of us on the court docket, three of us on the court docket, I feel we’ll determine it out and it will proceed to develop because it did final 12 months.”
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This text initially revealed at Dylan Harper plans to ‘keep constructive’ irrespective of how Spurs use him.
