By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer | San Antonio Express-News (SAEN), 2026-03-05 15:05:25
圣安东尼奥马刺队的迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) (2) 在2026年2月25日周三于多伦多举行的一场NBA常规赛下半场中，持球突破多伦多猛龙队的布兰登·英格拉姆 (Brandon Ingram) (3)。(Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)
迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 的首次全明星周末参赛经历可谓喜忧参半。
这位马刺新秀后卫在“新秀挑战赛”迷你锦标赛的半决赛中，面对哥哥小朗·哈珀 (Ron Harper Jr.) 投中了制胜球，但最终却输掉了决赛。一天后，哈珀兄弟和他们曾五次夺得NBA总冠军的父亲朗·哈珀 (Ron Harper) 在“投篮之星”竞赛首轮即遭淘汰，仅得到了惨淡的18分。
不过，哈珀家族最年轻的成员在加利福尼亚州英格尔伍德确实拥有一段全程都令他兴奋不已的经历。
作为联盟的“NBA全明星球员特派记者”，他在直觉穹顶球馆 (Intuit Dome) 到处走动，与球星们聊天，其中就包括一位他从小就关注的偶像：活塞队后卫凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham)。
在采访开始时，哈珀特意告诉了这位阿灵顿老乡这一点。
“我一辈子都在看你打球，大概从八年级就开始了，”哈珀对坎宁安说道，“我可以坦诚地说，因为我没什么架子，你一直是我最喜欢的球员。”
“那太疯狂了，兄弟。感受到你的爱了，”坎宁安回应道。
这并不是哈珀第一次将坎宁安列为最爱。在拉斯维加斯夏季联赛期间，他曾谈到希望效仿坎宁安和其他大型后卫，包括詹姆斯·哈登 (James Harden) 和谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)。
“他们是懂得如何控制比赛、掌控节奏的大型后卫，”哈珀说，“他们知道什么时候该得分，什么时候不该得分，也知道什么时候该让队友触球。我最欣赏他们的一点是，他们懂得如何让身边的队友变得更好。”
哈珀本赛季一直在践行这一点。在周四晚上对阵坎宁安和活塞队的比赛之前，他场均贡献11.2分、3.7次助攻和3.3个篮板。
这是哈珀第二次对阵他最喜欢的球员。此前，马刺在2月23日的牛仔节客场之旅中以114-103击败了底特律。
在那场比赛中，坎宁安在马刺后卫斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle) 窒息般的防守下举步维艰，在35分钟内仅得16分（比赛季平均水平低了9分），26投5中创下赛季新低，此外还有10次助攻、6个篮板、3次盖帽和2次抢断。
底特律活塞队后卫凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham) (2) 在2026年2月23日周一于底特律举行的一场NBA常规赛下半场中，持球突破圣安东尼奥马刺队前锋维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) (1)。(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
哈珀在那场比赛的进攻端表现也乏善可陈，在替补登场的18分钟里得到5分、3次助攻、2个篮板和1次抢断。
赛前，马刺队教练米奇·约翰逊 (Mitch Johnson) 被问及哈珀对坎宁安的崇拜。
“迪伦很有眼光，”约翰逊说道。
这位教练在身高6英尺5英寸、体重215磅的哈珀和身高6英尺6英寸、体重220磅的坎宁安身上看到了相似之处。
“我们看到越来越多这种高大的传统后卫出现，他们能控球、能做决策，能成为进攻端的全能核心枢纽，”约翰逊说，“所以我理解像哈珀这样的年轻人崇拜坎宁安。无论周围发生什么，他们都拥有一种能够掌控的节奏，这在年轻球员中是非常罕见的。所以我确实看到了相似之处。显然，一个比另一个领先很多，但我理解这种比较。”
坎宁安现年24岁，在俄克拉荷马州立大学打了一年后，于2021年被活塞队选为状元。他曾两度入选全明星，在上赛季入选最佳阵容，并曾入选2021-22赛季最佳新秀阵容。
马刺在去年六月以榜眼签选中了哈珀，他在周一刚满20岁。在罗格斯大学打了一个赛季后，哈珀凭借2月份在10场比赛中场均12.5分、4.9次助攻和3.9个篮板的表现，以及55.4%的投篮命中率，当选了NBA西部月最佳新秀。
尽管哈珀的赛季数据落后于年度最佳新秀的主要竞争者——达拉斯的库珀·弗拉格 (Cooper Flagg)（状元）和夏洛特的康·克努佩尔 (Kon Knueppel)（第四顺位），但马刺对哈珀的表现非常满意。
“我毫不怀疑，如果今天重新选秀，我们还是会选他，”维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 表示，“他非常出色，表现得非常沉稳。我知道我们在后卫位置上的储备非常深厚。但我很高兴迪伦非常年轻，可以留在这里很多年。我想尽可能长时间地和他一起在场上打球。”
文班亚马发表此番言论时，马刺周二晚上刚在费城取得了一场40分的大胜，哈珀在22分钟内11投8中（三分球4投2中）砍下22分，这是他本赛季第6场得分20+的比赛，也是球队大胜的导火索。
虽然在统计数据上，哈珀的表现还无法与弗拉格（1月29日对阵夏洛特时砍下赛季新高的49分）和克努佩尔（同场比赛砍下赛季最佳的34分）的最佳表现相媲美，但他们并不在像马刺这样拥有如此得分深度的球队中——马刺拥有8名场均得分上双的球员。
“我不会拿自己和任何人比较，只是在按自己的节奏前进，”哈珀说，“我们都处于不同的情况，我很庆幸能来到这里。”
也很庆幸拥有与坎宁安相似的技术特点。
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。
点击查看原文：What player did Dylan Harper admire most before he joined the Spurs?
What player did Dylan Harper admire most before he joined the Spurs?
San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper (2) drives past Toronto Raptors’ Brandon Ingram (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)
Dylan Harper’s first experience as an All-Star weekend competitor was a mixed bag.
The Spurs rookie guard sank a game-winning shot over his brother Ron Harper Jr., in the semifinals of the Rising Stars mini-tournament only to lose in the championship game. A day later, the Brothers Harper and their five-time NBA champ dad Ron were eliminated in the first round of the Shooting Stars competition after scoring a paltry 18 points.
But the youngest member of the Harper clan did have one experience in Inglewood, Calif., that was a thrill from start to finish.
Serving as an “NBA All-Star Player Correspondent” for the league, he roamed around Intuit Dome chatting with the stars, including one he grew up watching every chance he got: Pistons guard Cade Cunningham.
And he made sure to tell the Arlington native just that at the start of their interview.
“I’ve watched you all my life, since like eighth grade,” Harper told Cunningham. “I can say, since I’ve got no ego, you have been my favorite player.”
“That’s crazy, bro. That’s love, though,” Cunningham responded.
It wasn’t the first time Harper ranked Cunningham as his favorite. During Summer League in Las Vegas, he talked about his desire to emulate Cunningham and other big guards, including James Harden and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“They are big guards who know how to control the game, control the pace,” Harper said. “They know when they need to score and when they don’t need to score. They know when to give someone a touch. And the most important thing I like about all of them is they know how to make the team around them a lot better.”
Harper has been doing plenty of that this season, averaging 11.2 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds entering Thursday night’s game against Cunningham and the Pistons.
It was Harper’s second outing against his favorite player after the Spurs beat Detroit 114-103 on Feb. 23 in the midst of their rodeo trip.
Cunningham struggled in that game to break loose from the smothering defense of Spurs guard Stephon Castle, scoring just 16 points — nine below his season average — on a season-worst 5-of-26 shooting to go along with 10 assists, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 35 minutes.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Harper also had a sub-par game offensively, finishing with five points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes off the bench.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson was asked before the game about Harper’s admiration of Cunningham.
“Dylan’s got good taste,” Johnson said.
The coach sees similarities in the games of the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Harper and the 6-6, 220-pound Cunningham.
“We’ve seen this influx of bigger, traditional guards that can handle the ball, be decision-makers, be these versatile hubs offensively,” Johnson said. “And so I understand a young kid like Dylan Harper (admiring) Cade Cunningham. They both have this pace they kind of own regardless of what else is going on around them, which is pretty rare for young players specifically. So I do see some similarities there. Obviously, one is a lot further ahead than the other, but yeah, I get that (comparison).”
Selected No. 1 overall by the Pistons in 2021 after one season at Oklahoma State, Cunningham, 24, is a two-time All-Star who was an All-NBA performer last season after making the 2021-22 All-Rookie Team.
The Spurs selected Harper, who turned 20 on Monday, second overall last June after one season at Rutgers. He was the NBA’s Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February after averaging 12.5 points, 4.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 10 games while shooting 55.4% from the field.
Although Harper’s season numbers lag behind those of the leading candidates for rookie of the year, Dallas’ Cooper Flagg (No. 1 overall) and Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel (fourth overall), the Spurs are more than happy with Harper’s play.
“I have zero doubt that if there was a re-draft today, we would take him,” Victor Wembanyama said. “He’s so good, so composed. I know obviously we are so stacked at the guard position. But I’m so happy Dylan is super young and can be there for years and years. I want to be on the court with him for as long as possible.”
Wembanyama’s comments came after the Spurs’ 40-point romp in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, a rout Harper helped trigger with 22 points on 8 of 11 (2 of 4 from deep) in 22 minutes for his sixth game of 20-plus points.
It wasn’t on par statistically with some of the top games produced by Flagg, who scored a season-high 49 against Charlotte on Jan. 29, and Knueppel, who had a season-best 34 in that same game, but they also don’t play on a team with the scoring depth of the Spurs, who boast eight players averaging 10 or more points per game.
“I’m not comparing myself to anyone, just kind of running my own race,” Harper said. “We are all in different situations, and I am blessed to be in this one.”
And blessed to have a skill set similar to Cunningham’s.
By Tom Orsborn, Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News