Spurs star Dylan Harper, heading into Year 2, already knows he’s too good to come off the bench

Entering the 2026-27 NBA season, his second as a pro, Dylan Harper feels a lot like 2002 Tom Brady. Don't take that out of context. That is not a suggestion that Harper, who's still five months shy of his 21st birthday, is in line for a Brady-like career, though we can all agree his potential seems virtually limitless.

But in 2002, nobody would've said Brady was going to wind up as the greatest quarterback to ever play. At that time, we only had one postseason run — as incredible as it was in leading the Patriots to an unlikely Super Bowl victory over the Rams — to go off. But that was enough to know we were watching the birth of a special player.

Same deal with Harper, who went from an obviously good player with an obviously bright future during his first NBA regular season to something nobody saw coming, at least not this quickly, in his first postseason run with the Spurs.

No, it didn't end in a championship as Brady's first postseason did. But it was damn close. The Spurs knocked out the defending champion Thunder in seven games in the conference finals and held the lead…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/