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Dylan Harper entered the 2025 NBA Draft as one of the top prospects. He and Duke forward Cooper Flagg were the consensus choices on mock drafts everywhere. Harper was a no-brainer for the San Antonio Spurs at No. 2. However, Harper and his Rutgers teammate, Ace Bailey, were scrutinized for months leading up to the draft.
Harper spoke about the pre-draft process with Carmelo Anthony on Thursday's episode of 7PM in Brooklyn. When he talked about how he approached the overwhelming attention he received, Harper credited two other young stars.
Bronny James and Shedeur Sanders were both placed under the media's microscope. However, each of them tackled it in different ways. Harper observed each and used their experience to inform his own decisions.
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“I mean just learning. I think learning how to carry yourself go about certain things but at the end of the day like everyone is their own person. So like Bronny, he ain't the most out loud spoken guy like Shedeur, very quiet,” Harper said about the stars that came before him. “But he still gets the same backlash gets. So at the end of the day you’re still going to get the backlash no matter what you do, whether it's right wrong or anything else. So just having that mindset that like we're the next generation of these superstar kids and there's always going to be a spotlight on us no matter what and just going with that mindset just like being you honestly that's how I look just being me.”
Sanders and James are both sons of legends in their sport. While Harper is also the son of a former NBA player, Ron Harper is not as popular as LeBron James or Deion Sanders. The journey before and through the draft process helped Harper deal with the stress that comes with his popularity.
Harper joins the Spurs' young core, where he will continue to learn from De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. The No. 2 pick figures to be one of the best players from the 2025 draft. The thing that sets him apart from others is his maturity. If he maintains his growth mindset, the sky's the limit.
