No. 14! The Spurs become the winner of the draft day, and the core structure is becoming more and more complete

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Li Hui

In the 2025 draft, in addition to the Mavericks' selection of No. 1 pick Flagge as the biggest winner, the Spurs, which have the second pick and the No. 14 pick, are also winners of the draft. They selected Dylan Harper with the second pick and Carter Bryant with the 14th pick. These two operations have caused many media to give the Spurs an A or even A+ score in this draft.

It is a reasonable choice to win Dylan Harper in the second pick. As the strongest double-guard player in this rookie, Harper's draft template is James Harden. Similar to Harden, in addition to having excellent personal ball-holding and offensive ability, Harper is also very good at creating opportunities for his teammates in pick-and-roll offense. It is worth mentioning that Harden's template in the draft was the legendary Spurs star Ginobili. In other words, Harper undoubtedly has the shadow of Ginobili. The Spurs management knows how to use such a type of player well.

The Spurs' current lineup already has two excellent defenders, Fox and last season's Rookie Castle. Therefore, before the draft, there were still some voices who believed that the Spurs should not choose Harper, and even traded the second pick. But in the end, the Spurs chose the best talented player in this rookie except Flag. There is no doubt that Harper's arrival further improved the Spurs' strength in the backcourt. In the new season, head coach Mickey undoubtedly faced the trouble of happiness. How to make Fox, Castle and Harper react in chemistry is one of the most important tasks he needs to complete.

Harper's father is the Bulls' second main point guard Ron Harper during his three-game winning streak. He has rich NBA experience, which can undoubtedly help Harper adapt to the NBA better. Therefore, from all angles, Harper has a good chance to help the Spurs win more immediately in the new season.

Although Carter Bryant does not have such excellent talent as Harper, the Spurs also gained a lot when choosing this player in the 14th pick. Bryant has distinctive characteristics, but he has excellent physical conditions, external defense ability and stable three-point shooting ability. During college, his three-point shooting percentage reached 37.1%. Today's Spurs have super insiders like Vinbanyama, with excellent defenders like Fox, Castle, and Harper. What they lack most are players with 3D attributes like Bryant, so this is undoubtedly the most reasonable choice made by the Spurs management for the current lineup.

From the perspective of lineup composition, the Spurs have built a very ideal structure for the future, and the configuration of the internal and external lines is very reasonable. Most importantly, the core players of this Spurs are generally very young, and they still have a lot of room for improvement themselves. Once they grow further and establish chemical reactions, the Spurs will really usher in a moment of revival.