Dylan Harper has entered a season where he is expected to be a top five pick, but there is a very realistic case where he can be second overall.
Heading into the 2024-2025 NCAA season, the Cooper Flag was the overall pick of the consensus number one overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, and that didn’t change. If anything, he exceeds his high-pitched expectations. But beyond him there was a lot of uncertainty.
The class is absolutely talented and although the top 15 picks could be high-level younger players, orders were in the air. That is, until Rutgers’ Dylan Harper broke out. Dylan, son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, is a high-level player like Flagg who could potentially draft a team.
However, he began the season by playing second fiddles with teammate Ace Bailey, and he quickly managed to surpass him as one of the best players in the elite draft class.
- Age/Date of Birth: 19 (March 2, 2006)
- Nationality: America
- Height/Weight: 6ft 6, 215lbs
- University: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Career Statistics: 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.4 steel, 48.4 FG%, 33.3 3pt%
- NCAA Tournament Statistics: n/a
- Career Highs: 37 points (vs. Alabama), 12 rebounds (vs. Pennsylvania), 12 (vs. Columbia)
- NBA comparison: 2012-13 James Harden
Harper looks like the son of an NBA champion. Ron must have instilled in winning as a childhood pillar as the best game of the season, a 37-point match against Alabama, as one of the best teams in the country.
He also had large games against Notre Dame, Washington, Illinois and USC. Only Illinois has created the NCAA tournaments, but they are still tough opponents in any season.
He can absorb and finish through contact and score the best in the rim and midrange, but his external fire shows some promise. He can also create spaces with traffic using handles. If an external shot comes, you can change the pro comparison from your first All-Star James Harden to the 2018 MVP season.
Outside of scoring, he is a skilled, physical defender. His defense is not his calling card, but he appears to understand the saying that the defense won the championship. He’s also a solid passerby, but when he gets the ball he’s about to score.
He’s not trying to pass as much as NBA scouts like, so sometimes he dribbles into situations he can’t escape, highlighting his seven games with more spins than assists.
With the 6-foot-6 large guard, his rebound is simply not great, but maybe it’s because he’s trying to attack on the floor. At 19 years old, he rarely finds the perfect outlook. His rebound and tunnel vision is the biggest flaws.
The NBA offseason should be able to fix that issue, but his shot choices are also volatile.
Harper is at his core, which is why he was compared to the younger James Harden, rather than the trigger-happy quarantine scorer later in his career. Still, the younger James Harden fits almost every team, and Harper is no exception.
Aside from the massive surprises, the best Harper today is the “people with a second pick.” Perhaps he will not be available much later than that, regardless of who chooses.
The Utah Jazz is a solid fit, and with the addition of Harper, you can trade Colin Sexton for a better fit next to Lauri Markanen.
The San Antonio Spurs also have a solid fit, but everyone will fit next to the Victor Wenbagnama.
The only team close to the top of the draft is probably the Wizard of Washington, who seems like he’s not going to fit in really well. Between Jordan Poole, Bilal Coolivery and Bab Carrington, Washington already has many young onball players. And while the franchise certainly can use Harper’s winning mentality injection, their depth charts are growing with Harper’s addition.