Former Rutgers star Dylan Harper is one of the projected top picks in the 2025 NBA draft. He only played one season in college before declaring for the NBA draft, but he immediately established himself as a star. In his freshman year, he averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
As a result of his strong season, Harper is projected to be the second pick in the draft, behind only Duke’s Cooper Flagg. As the projected second pick, there has been a lot of fanfare around him since his arrival in New York for the draft on Wednesday. On Sunday, he appeared at a New York Yankees game, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
“First pitch at the Yankees, Dylan HARPER,” the Rutgers men’s basketball X account wrote.
First pitch at the @Yankees ⚾️🏀
Dylan HARPER. #TheKnighthood🛡️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/5yiTAuBNTU
— Rutgers Men’s Basketball 🏀 (@RutgersMBB) June 22, 2025
The Yankees are playing the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
San Antonio Spurs Expected To Draft Dylan Harper
Cooper Flagg is unanimously agreed upon to be the first pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Dylan Harper is then agreed upon to be the likely second pick. Although it is not as unanimous as Flagg’s projection, most media outlets are predicting that he will get drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the second pick.
Three of the biggest media outlets, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and USA Today, have put out mock drafts in the past week. While they have a lot of differences in their projections later in the draft, all three project Harper to be the second pick.
If Harper is drafted by the Spurs, he will be joining a team that is coming out of a rebuild. After a long stretch of success in the 2000s and 2010s, the Spurs entered a rebuild a few years ago. In 2023, they drafted the centerpiece of their future, superstar center Victor Wembanyama. He is arguably the most hyped prospect since LeBron James in 2003.
With Wembanyama expected to dominate for the Spurs as a big man for the next decade, the Spurs could use strong guard play. They traded for De’Aaron Fox from Sacramento in February, but he is already 27 and might not be able to help the team throughout Wembanyama’s entire prime.
As a result, it makes sense to draft a guard who can be with the Spurs’ star center for his entire prime. Dylan Harper looks like he can be that guy in San Antonio.
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