1 week Ago By Jonah Kubicek, NBA Analysis Network
Dylan Harper entered the season expected to end up as a top-five pick, but there’s a very real case that he could go second overall. Heading into the 2024-2025 NCAA season, Cooper Flagg was the consensus number one overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft , and that has not changed. If anything, he’s exceeded the lofty expectations on his shoulders.
However, beyond him, there was a lot of uncertainty. The class is absolutely loaded with talent, and any top-15 pick will likely be a high-level young player, but the order had been up in the air. That is, until Rutgers’ Dylan Harper broke out.
The son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, Dylan is a high-level player who, like Flagg, has the potential to transform whichever team drafts him. However, he started the season playing second fiddle to teammate Ace Bailey, although he was quickly able to surpass him as one of the very best players in an elite draft class. Dylan Harper key facts Dylan Harper’s strengths Harper looks like the son of an NBA champion.
Ron must have instilled winning as a pillar of his childhood, because his best game of the season, a 37-point game with 11-for-19 shooting against Alabama, was against one of the very best teams in the country. He had massive games against Notre Dame, Washington, Illinois, and USC as well. While only Illinois made the NCAA Tournament, those are still tough opponents in any season.
He can absorb and finish through contact, and does his best scoring at the rim and in the midrange, although his outside shooting has shown some promise. He can use his handle to create space even in traffic, and if the outside shot comes, we can change our pro comparison from first-time All-Star James Harden to his 2018 MVP season. Outside of scoring, he is an adept and physical defender.
His defense won’t be his calling card, but he seems to understand the adage that defense wins championships. He is also a solid passer, although when he gets the ball, he is looking to score. Dylan Harper’s weaknesses Since he isn’t looking to pass as much as NBA scouts will like, sometimes he dribbles himself into situations where he just can’t escape, highlighted by his seven games with more turnovers than assists.
For a 6-foot-6 oversized guard, his rebounding is simply not great, but that could be because he’s looking to streak up the floor. At 19 years old, it’s rare to find a perfect prospect, and his rebounding and tunnel vision are the biggest flaws. His shot selection is also shaky, especially off the dribble, although an NBA offseason should be able to fix that issue, and whichever team drafts him will want him to shoot too much as opposed to too little.
Dylan Harper’s best NBA fits Harper, at his core, is a slasher, which is why he was compared to a young James Harden instead of the trigger-happy isolation scorer from later years in his career. Still, a young James Harden would fit on pretty much any team, and Harper is no exception. Barring a massive surprise, the best fit for Harper right now is “whoever has the second pick.
” Chances are, he won’t be available much later than that, regardless of who picks. The Utah Jazz would be a solid fit, and adding Harper would allow them to trade Collin Sexton for a better fit next to Lauri Markkanen. The San Antonio Spurs would also be a solid fit, although anyone would fit in well next to Victor Wembanyama.
The only team near the top of the draft that he wouldn’t fit in really well with is likely the Washington Wizards. Between Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington, Washington already has plenty of young on-ball players, and their depth chart would be stretched with the addition of Harper, although the franchise could certainly use an injection of the Harper winning mentality. This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.
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