By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2025-10-11 13:49:50
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
2025年10月10日，在圣安东尼奥，圣安东尼奥马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama)（左）在一场对阵犹他爵士队的NBA季前赛上半场中，与队友迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper)（右）交谈。(美联社照片/Darren Abate)
马刺队新秀迪伦·哈珀仿佛是抱着篮球出生的。
他的父亲是NBA总冠军成员，母亲是篮球教练，哈珀从小就比同龄人更深地沉浸在这项运动中。
然而，去年六月以榜眼秀身份来到圣安东尼奥后不久，哈珀就学到了与身高7尺4寸、名叫维克托·文班亚马的“外星人”同场竞技的第一条法则。
那就是——忘掉你自以为对篮球的所有认知。
“从来没有人跟那么高的人一起打过球，”哈珀说。“你得彻底颠覆你的思维定式。”
在周五首次与文班亚马并肩作战的NBA季前赛中，哈珀的篮球大脑就像西蒙·拜尔斯（Simone Biles）般上演了一连串的思维空翻。
在心态调整方面，这位前罗格斯大学的杰出球员证明了自己是个一点就通的快手。
上半场末段，在马刺队以134-130战胜爵士队的比赛中，哈珀向切入篮下的文班亚马送出了一记高吊球。
球刚一出手，哈珀还以为自己传得太高了。结果，这记传球反而有点偏低。
但文班亚马毕竟是文班亚马，他还是稳稳接住球，完成了空中接力暴扣，同时造成了犹他队凯文·乐福 (Kevin Love) 的犯规，引爆了霜冻银行中心17,828名观众的雷鸣般欢呼。
对于19岁的哈珀来说，这无疑是宝贵的一课。
“我本应该把球传得更高一些的，”哈珀说道。
2025年10月10日，在圣安东尼奥，马刺队中锋维克托·文班亚马（1号）在对阵犹他爵士队的NBA季前赛上半场命中一球后，与队友迪伦·哈珀（中左）庆祝。(美联社照片/Darren Abate)
文班亚马仅出战上半场便砍下22分。德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 状态火热，贡献了18分。
双向合同后卫大卫·琼斯·加西亚 (David Jones Garcia) 则在比赛末段接管了比赛，他在第四节和加时赛中独得20分。
然而，对于着眼未来的马刺队而言，本场比赛的焦点无疑是哈珀的成功首秀。
这位身高6尺6寸的后卫因上个月接受了拇指手术，错过了球队前两场季前赛。
本场比赛，哈珀替补出战共计18分钟，6投4中得到9分并送出3次助攻。
“能重新上场打球的感觉太棒了，”哈珀说。“就是来回奔跑，努力找回比赛的感觉。”
作为马刺队史除文班亚马、蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 和大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 这三位状元之外选秀顺位最高的球员，哈珀在霜冻银行中心的盛大亮相备受期待。
他没用多长时间就点燃了全场。
在第一节还剩6分12秒时登场后仅12秒，哈珀便完成一次空切，接到哈里森·巴恩斯 (Harrison Barnes) 的传球上篮得手。
“这只是他年轻职业生涯中的又一步，他会继续成长，”教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 谈及哈珀的首秀时说。“很显然，他打出了一些精彩的表现，希望他能因此感觉良好。能够在球迷面前、在聚光灯下打球，这本身就是宝贵的经验。”
凭借充满活力的年轻双腿，哈珀展现了全场压迫式的撕咬型防守。当球在他手中时，他确保了马刺队的进攻始终朝着篮筐冲击。
他灵巧地晃过爵士队前锋、前罗格斯大学队友——NBA五号秀埃斯·贝利 (Ace Bailey)，完成上篮。他通过挡拆配合，精准地找到了马刺队另一位七尺长人卢克·科内特 (Luke Kornet)，助其轻松得分。
他还在投篮计时器即将到时之际，命中了一记高难度的底角跳投，并投进一记三分球。
虽然单场比赛的正负值可能存在误导性，但哈珀周五+20的正负值直观地反映了他的出色表现。
“迪伦一直很棒，”老将中锋卢克·科内特说。“他显然拥有出众的技术和能力，但更让我印象深刻的是他的比赛意识，他懂得如何打球，以及如何将所有部分融为一体。”
当赛前被问及在过去两周训练中对哈珀印象最深的是什么时，约翰逊教练同样指出了这位新秀的“成熟度以及对比赛的理解”。
“他不会试图每次都自己得分或玩一堆花哨动作，”约翰逊说。“他只是努力成为团队的一员并融入其中。”
对于任何新加入马刺队的球员来说，与文班亚马的融合始终是头等大事。
从这个角度看，周五那次与这位法国飞人的高空连线无疑是一个积极的信号。
“能和他一起在场上感觉很好，”文班亚马说。“他看起来已经准备好了，传出那种球已经非常自如。”
在曾征战NBA的父亲罗恩 (Ron) 和在高中执教过他的母亲玛丽亚 (Maria) 的教导下，哈珀已经汲取了毕生难忘的篮球课程。
而从文班亚马身上，哈珀正在学到关于这项运动的另一堂宝贵课程。
那就是，学无止境。
就拿上半场那次空中接力来说吧。
“你把球向上抛，以为自己传得太高了，”哈珀说。“但当他接住球时，你又会觉得，‘好像有点太低了。’就是这些小细节。你只要把球传到除了他以外谁也拿不到的地方就行了。”
Dylan Harper #2 of San Antonio Spurs dribbles the ball during 2025 NBA Summer League game between the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 14, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, left, sits with Spurs player development coach Tim Martin, right, before a preseason NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Dylan Harper #2 of San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball over Kyle Filipowski #22 of Utah Jazz during 2025 NBA Summer League game between the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 14, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dylan Harper drives into the lane during 2025 NBA Summer League game between the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 14, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dylan Harper #2 of San Antonio Spurs attacks the basket against Elijah Harkless #16 of Utah Jazz during 2025 NBA Summer League game between the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 14, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
点击查看原文：Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper impresses in NBA preseason debut
Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper impresses in NBA preseason debut
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, left, speaks with teammate Dylan Harper, right, during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Spurs rookie Dylan Harper was practically born with a basketball in his hand.
The son of an NBA champion father and a basketball-coaching mother, Harper has spent his life more immersed in the sport than the average teenager.
Not long after arriving in San Antonio as the No. 2 overall draft pick last June, however, Harper came to learn the first rule when it comes to sharing the floor with a 7-foot-4 extraterrestrial named Victor Wembanyama.
Forget everything you think you know about the game.
“Ain’t no one ever play with someone that tall,” Harper said. “You kind of got to flip your brain.”
In his first NBA preseason game sharing the floor with Wembanyama on Friday, Harper’s basketball brain was doing a Simone Biles-like barrage of somersaults.
When it came to mental gymnastics, the former Rutgers standout proved to be a quick study.
Late in the first half of the 134-130 victory over Utah, Harper flipped a lob toward Wembanyama slicing to the rim.
Harper was sure he had thrown the ball too high as it left his hands. Instead, the pass turned out to be a tad underthrown.
Wembanyama being Wembanyama, he collected it anyhow to finish the alley-oop jam, drawing a foul on Utah’s Kevin Love and a raucous cheer from 17,828 at the Frost Bank Center.
Consider it a lesson learned for the 19-year-old Harper.
“I should have threw it a lot higher,” Harper said.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates after a basket with teammate Dylan Harper, center left, during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Wembanyama ended with 22 points despite not playing a second of the second half. Devin Vassell was sharp on his way to 18 points.
Two-way guard David Jones Garcia took the game home for the Spurs, scoring all 20 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
For the Spurs looking forward, however, the storyline of the game was Harper’s successful debut.
The 6-foot-6 guard missed the club’s first two exhibition games while recovering from thumb surgery last month.
All told, Harper totaled 18 minutes off the bench, scoring nine points with three assists on 4-of-6 shooting.
“It just felt good to play again,” Harper said. “Just getting up and down, just trying to get a feel back for the game.”
As the highest-drafted player in Spurs’ history outside of Wembanyama, Tim Duncan and David Robinson — each of whom were No. 1 picks — Harper’s grand unveiling came highly anticipated at the Frost Bank Center.
He wasted little time getting the crowd to its feet.
Twelve seconds after entering the game with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter, Harper slipped back door and took a pass from Harrison Barnes for a layup.
“It’s just another step for him and his young career as he’s going to continue to grow," coach Mitch Johnson said of Harper’s debut. “Obviously, he made some plays, which hopefully he’ll feel good about. Just to be able to do it in front of fans and in the bright lights, it is just invaluable experience.”
Blessed with springy young legs, Harper displayed a full-court, ball-hawking style of defense. He made sure the Spurs’ offense was consistently headed downhill when the ball was in his hands.
He wiggled past Utah forward and former Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey, the NBA’s No. 5 pick, for a layup. He found the Spurs’ other 7-footer, Luke Kornet, at the rim on a pick-and-roll.
He buried a contested baseline jumper to beat the shot clock and knocked down a 3-point attempt.
Though individual plus-minus scores can be misleading over a single-game sample size, Harper’s plus-20 on Friday passed the eye test.
“Dylan’s been great,” veteran center Luke Kornet said. “He’s obviously got a lot of skill and ability at his disposal, but I’ve been pretty impressed in terms of his awareness of the game, understanding how to play it and how things all fit together.”
Asked before the game what has impressed him most about Harper through the first two weeks of practices, Johnson likewise pointed to the rookie’s “maturity and understanding of the game.”
“He’s not trying to score every time or make a bunch of moves,” Johnson said. “He’s just trying to be part of the team and fit in.”
For any new player joining the Spurs, fitting in with Wembanyama remains priority No. 1.
In that, Friday’s lob connection with the high-flying Frenchman provided a positive sign.
A post shared by San Antonio Spurs (@ spurs)
“It is good to be on the court with him,” Wembanyama said. "He looks ready, very comfortable already throwing these kinds of passes.”
Harper has already packed in a lifetime of basketball lessons at the foot of his NBA-playing father Ron and his mother Maria, who helped coach him in high school.
From Wembanyama, Harper is learning another valuable lesson about the game.
Namely, that the learning never stops.
Take that first-half alley-oop, for example.
“You throw it up, and you think you threw it too high,” Harper said. “But then he catches it and you’re like, ‘It’s a little too low.’ So just little things like that. Just throw where no one else can get it but him."
By Jeff McDonald, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News
