Heading into the 2025 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs were projected to pick second and 14th. However, they wanted to make a trade.
They had identified two players whom they wanted to draft. The first, Dylan Harper, came as no surprise, as the Rutgers standout had long been the second-best player in the draft process. The second player they wanted was so enticing that they made offers to trade up, although other teams had also identified "can't miss" players.
Luckily, the guy the Spurs wanted was none other than Carter Bryant, who ended up falling to the Spurs with the 14th pick.
"We had Carter pretty high on our board and actually tried, you know, made some moves to potentially go and get him," revealed Brian Wright after the first round. "And so to get him at 14 was a pleasant surprise for us tonight."
In his lone season with the Arizona Wildcats, Bryant averaged only 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds while coming off the bench, although he is an elite defender who shot 37.1 percent from deep on limited attempts.
The Spurs are optimistic that he can be a two-way contributor right away and eventually blossom into a star.
"I think he's super versatile," gushed Wright of Bryant. "He's a big wing that I think can, well, we think can guard four positions. He spaces the floor well. He's a really good athlete. I think he's a smart young kid, and I think he's got the right character and makeup that we look for. So I think we're, you know, excited that he was there. And again, you know, a little surprised, but we think he adds, you know, a new dimension to this team going forward."
Bryant prides himself on his defensive capabilities and is a longtime friend of Harper. On top of that, he was evaluated as a high-character guy and knows sign language, making him a rather "Spursy" pick.
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