Get to know Dylan Harper
Dylan Harper sits down with Andy Katz to discuss this year's NBA Draft and what he brings to the table.
Overview
The Harpers are a basketball family. Dylan’s father, Ron, played 15 seasons in the NBA and won five championships while suiting up for the Bulls and Lakers. Dylan’s brother, Ron Jr., currently plays for the Pistons as a two-way player. Their mother, Maria, played college basketball at New Orleans and is an assistant coach at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. Dylan was named NJ.com Player of the Year as a junior in high school and led Don Bosco to a state title as a senior. He was a consensus five-star recruit, picking Rutgers over Duke, Kansas and Auburn to become the program’s highest-rated recruit in history. Harper’s lone college season didn’t go as planned because a nasty illness bothered him for an entire month. He averaged 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 13 games before missing a Jan. 2 game in Indiana. He tried to play through the ailment, averaging 9.7 points in six appearances before missing two more games. Harper finished his freshman season strong, averaging 21.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.2 steals in his final 10 games. Overall, Harper posted 48/33/75 shooting splits on 13.8 field-goal attempts, 5.2 3-point tries and 5.8 free-throw trips per game.
Analysis
Harper is a big-bodied, do-it-all playmaker with positional versatility. He puts a ton of pressure on the rim, is creative with his footwork and can finish smoothly with both hands. He won’t be the quickest or most explosive at the NBA level, but he has plenty of athleticism to succeed. He can use his size in one-on-one situations, but he’s more efficient when utilizing a screen and has the potential to be an offensive engine due to his feel for the game and willingness to find the open teammate. Harper’s jumper in catch-and-shoot situations was elite, but he took too many contested off-the-dribble shots to be a consistent 3-point shooter in college. Regardless, with more space and better shot selection in the NBA, Harper still profiles as an above-average 3-point shooter. Harper had good defensive production in college and showed a willingness to compete, but he’ll need to be more engaged as a pro.
Quotable
“I think what he does a great job with is his pace. … He has a change of speed that is real deceptive. … You kind of got him corralled and then he has that hesitation, slow little pace to him and then that next burst and he is at the rim. He has really good body control.” — Former Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson
Some stats & tidbits
Harper set the Rutgers freshman scoring record with 564 points in the 2024-25 season. … Father, Ron Sr., played 15 seasons in the NBA and won five championships. … Brother, Ron Jr., who also played at Rutgers, was a two-way player with the Detroit Pistons in the 2024-25 season. … Mother, Maria, coached Dylan in high school as an assistant at Don Bosco Prep and played college basketball at the University of New Orleans. … Worked out with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo before the 2024-25 season.
Projection
It’s difficult not to think of Pistons star Cade Cunningham (6-foot-6, 200 pounds) when watching Harper play (aside from the fact that the latter is a lefty). Both use their large frames to get to their spots against smaller guards and can blow by bigger defenders when opposing teams switch. Cunningham was great as a rookie, finishing third in Kia Rookie of the Year voting behind Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley and transformed into a superstar due to incremental improvements each season. Harper has all the elements and characteristics to make the same leap Cunningham did, but the Rutgers product will need to put in the work.
— Profile by RotoWire.com