Draft Analyst: '99.9% chance' that Spurs select Dylan Harper at No. 2

With the draft lottery and the combine being this week in Chicago, the 2025 NBA Draft is starting to take shape. Now, the No. 2 pick by the San Antonio Spurs is as clear to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony as the No. 1 pick will be by the Dallas Mavericks.

Givony joined ‘NBA Today’ from the combine in Wintrust Arena to discuss the latest regarding the draft. It was at that point that he said he’s almost certain that Rutgers’ Dylan Harper will be the second overall pick, behind only Duke’s Cooper Flagg, by the Spurs with them wanting to add him to their backcourt.

“Dylan Harper is going to be the number two pick in the draft,” Givony stated. “I am 99.9% sure about it.”

“The San Antonio Spurs are signaling to teams that they are very excited about the opportunity to draft Dylan Harper. They are not pursuing trades from what we’re hearing,” continued Givony. “They think that they can play Dylan Harper together with Steph(on) Castle and De’Aaron Fox in the same backcourt. Obviously, teams have some questions marks about the amount of shooting on that roster. That’s something that they are probably going to address at a later stage.”

Harper has long been viewed as one of the top prospects in this draft class. He has only solidified that status with how he has tested and measured this week at the combine.

“He looked, also, really, really good, tested very well, shot it well,” said Givony. “His body is in a great place. He’s lost 15 pounds in the last year. He’s also grown. He has measurements comparable to those of Dwyane Wade coming out of college.”

Harper went one-and-done this season after his freshman year with the Scarlet Knights. He would average 19.4 points (48.4% FG, 33.3% 3PT on 1.7 makes), 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in 29 appearances in Piscataway. He, along with a fellow top recruit and draft prospect in Ace Bailey, led the program this season in going on to earn honors, along with some national recognitions, as Third Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman.

With that, Harper has been right near the top of multiple mocks, specifically the latest ones which have dropped since the lottery order was set on Monday. On3’s James Fletcher and ESPN, done by Givony as well as Jeremy Woo, have mocked him to go second to San Antonio with him projected as the top point guard coming out in 2025.

Come June, San Antonio could add Harper to what’s an exciting corps being put together for their franchise. That’s with Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, the past two Rookies of the Year in the NBA, leading a team that added De’Aaron Fox at the trade deadline and also has Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, and Jeremy Sochan. Chris Paul is still in the mix there too after finishing his twentieth season in the association.

It was thought that the Spurs could use this pick in a potential trade to really start to compete in their new tenure under Mitch Johnson. However, coming out of his appearance at the combine this week, it’s reportedly looking more like they’ll make this pick with Harper being their selection per Givony.

“Dylan Harper is the second-best prospect in this draft,” said Givony. “He will go second, I believe.”