Although they did not participate in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft last night, the Spurs had a memorable first round by walking away with two highly touted prospects: 2nd overall pick Dylan Harper and 14 overall pick Carter Bryant. Most Spurs fans are probably familiar with Harper since he was the consensus pick at that slot, and there was time to research him, but Bryant may be less familiar to those who are no that into college basketball. Yesterday, we got to know Harper a little better, so be sure to go check that out if you haven’t already, and today it’s Bryant’s turn.
Bryant was born in Riverside, California. Like Harper, he comes from a basketball background with his father, D’Cean Carter, having played college basketball at Long Beach State. He is a high school basketball coach who coached Carter himself, first at Fountain Valley High school, and then at Sage Hill Highschool in New Port Beach, where Carter transferred to after his father took the job there. He was named the Pacific Coast Conference MVP his junior year after averaging 22.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, four assists, 2.9 blocks, and 1.6 steals. Finally, he transferred to Centennial High School in Corona for his senior season, where he was named a McDonald’s All American in 2024.
As a consensus four-star recruit, he chose to play college ball at the University of Arizona. He only started five games on a veteran-laden squad in his lone season there, averaging 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block while shooting 37.1% from three in 19 minutes per game off the bench. Despite the relatively limited role, he was still widely considered a Top 10 pick and declared for the NBA Draft, even though he probably could have launched himself into the top 5 had he stayed in college another year. Even so, he is still considered a steal at 14th overall this year.
At 6’8”, Bryant is currently seen as an athletic 3-and-D wing who is mostly a spot-up shooter off the catch and not known for creating his own shot, but he still has high upside on that end (plus, with three elite guards in Bryant, Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox, the Spurs won’t be looking for much more from him than to get open and take his shots at this point). On the other end, Carter is an elite perimeter defender with a nearly 7’ wing span and a noted ability to block three-point shots.
These assets have led to several comparisons to former Spurs, from Bruce Bowen to Bryant’s fellow Arizona Wildcat Sean Elliott (who is surely very excited about his arrival) if he reaches his offensive potential combined with his athleticism. Bryant himself admits he has tried to model his game after a less popular former Spur: Kawhi Leonard. While Spurs fans may cringe at the name, they would surely love to actually see that happen considering Leonard’s similar trajectory from elite defender who likely fell a bit in the draft due to his shaky offensive game to lethal scorer and two-time MVP. Expecting the same from Bryant is unreasonable, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to learn from an all-time great and no denying that the upside is there.
Off the court, Bryant is very involved in the deaf community, as both of his maternal grandparents are deaf. His grandfather, Mike Torres, is a member of the USA Deaf Basketball Hall of Fame, while his grandmother, Shelly Freed, is a longtime educator and administrator at the California School for the Deaf. His mother, Sabrina Torres, is a sign language interpreter, and Bryant himself is fluent in American Sign Language. As he told Arizona Alumni for his player profile:
As his profile rises, Bryant intends to bring awareness to the Deaf community and hopes to host basketball camps in Tucson and at the California School for the Deaf as soon as next summer. Part of it, he says, is using his platform to make an impact. Part of it’s giving credit where credit’s due.
“They deserve it,” he says. “They’re amazing people.”
“Next summer” is now, so hopefully with his new NBA contract, he can start fulfilling his dream of doing more for the deaf community, which will hopefully include his new home as well. Welcome to San Antonio, Carter!