Dylan Harper excited in his summer league debut (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs moved to 2-0 in Las Vegas by defeating the Dallas Mavericks by a final score of 76-69. What will be remembered most about this game was the battle between Dylan Harper and Cooper Flagg, the top two picks of the 2025 NBA Draft. Flagg finished with 31 points in 31 minutes but it’s safe to say that both Texas teams were thrilled with what they saw from their top picks.
Stats: Spurs vs. Mavericks
spurs mavs grades
Spurs vs. Mavericks – Final Grades
Dylan Harper
While his conditioning obviously has room for improvement, Harper looked damn good in his Spurs summer league debut. Let’s start with his defense. He didn’t look like a notable defender at Rutgers but his D this afternoon was very good. He pressured the ball, he offered timely help and he even protected the rim. Offensively, Harper looked as smooth as advertised. He didn’t force anything but instead played with precision. He passed the ball well, his footwork and patience going to the rim were awesome, and his craftiness in drawing fouls was apparent. In terms of the eye-test, Harper looks the part of a jumbo playmaker. He’s big and long but also very coordinated. He can get in better shape, shoot the ball better from the perimeter and be more active when away from the ball offensively … but, man, it’s an exciting time to be a Spurs fan. Harper already looks like he’ll be a stud.
Grade: A-
Carter Bryant
Different game, same story. Bryant was an absolute beast on defense. Even when defending Cooper Flagg, Bryant looked great on that end of the court. His size, activity, fearlessness, physicality, mobility and anticipation combine to create a high-level defensive prospect. Offensively, yeah, no, it’s not good. Bryant missed all seven shots from the field and made matters worse by turning it over four times. He’s hesitant on offense and his shots are short when he lets it fly. Bryant’s form looks fine and his release point is more than adequate — he’s just not hitting anything right now. Let’s hope he can hit a couple threes in an upcoming game to get going.
Grade: B-
Harrison Ingram
The good: Ingram has very good rebounding instincts. He’s a very good passer who reads the court well and delivers passes on time. He’s locked in defensively and usually makes the right plays offensively. The bad: Ingram’s physical limitations really negatively impact what he can do out there. On defense, it’s difficult for him to stay in front of quicker players or defend the rim. Offensively, Ingram struggles to find angles to score and gets swallowed up by any type of quality defender with size.
Grade: C+
Riley Minix
San Antonio needs three-point shooting so that should keep Minix in the mix. His three-point shot is buttery smooth; it always looks like it’s going in when he gets an open look. Against the Mavs, he moved well without the ball and made heady, quick passes. His feel for the game is a plus. Defensively, Minix has some issues. His lateral movement is glacial and he looks slow in general (although, to be fair to Minix, his D may look worse than it is right now because of how well Bryant is playing on that end).
Grade: B-
Ibrahima Diallo
Diallo started at center but played just six minutes. In that time, he protected the hoop well and was felt on the boards.
Grade: B
David Jones-Garcia
Jones-Garcia went to the bench to make room for Harper. To his credit, that demotion didn’t knock him out of his groove. In 27 minutes, he poured in 21 more points. He shot well, particularly his 3-for-3 showing from three-point range. Defensively, I liked how Jones-Garcia played. He pressured out on the perimeter and then helped out in the paint as much as he could. There were some negatives this afternoon, however. His decision-making offensively left a lot to be desired. Jones-Garcia too often passed when he should have shot and shot when he should have passed. His passing on the move was wonky and his ball-handling was shaky at times, which led to a team-high six turnovers.
Grade: B
Dexter Dennis
Dennis continues his very solid summer league play. He knocked down a pair of three-pointers and is now 6-for-7 from deep in Vegas. Dennis’ athleticism remains a force for good on defense and the threat of his drives are opening up lanes. Quietly, he has likely put himself in the competition for a two-way contract from the Spurs or elsewhere.
Grade: B
Osayi Osifo
Osifo is a blast to watch. He’s a raw player but he plays so hard that he’s always in the middle of the action. His speed in the open court is game-changing and he’s so quick in close quarters that he finds it easy to get open when rolling to the rim. Osifo fouls too much, he’s late to rotate on defense too often and he can’t really do much outside of the paint on offense — but he’s such a ball of energy that he can’t help but aid the team in summer league.
Grade: B+
Jameer Nelson, Jr.
After a poor showing in his first game in Vegas, Nelson settled down and played a more controlled brand of basketball versus Dallas. He went without a turnover while consistently making the right plays. He communicated well and was reliably in the right spots. Nelson tends to have stretches of discombobulation but this afternoon he stayed on the straight and narrow.
Grade: B
Kyle Mangas
Mangas was mostly fine. He moved to the wrong spots on offense a couple times but he held up decently well on defense and he scooped up loose balls a couple times.
Grade: B-
Nate Mensah
Mensah got some backup center minutes but underwhelmed. He was too nonchalant in pick-and-roll coverage and also fouled four times in only seven minutes.
Grade: C-
Mike Noyes
Good stuff from Noyes. Bringing Jones-Garcia off the bench was gutsy but it was the right call. He allowed Harper to play on and off the ball, which was smart because that’s what he’ll be doing during the regular season. I liked that Noyes didn’t hesitate to go without a true center. My main issue with him today is I thought he could have done a better job of keeping Bryant on Flagg. That would have been a great test for Bryant and he was clearly San Antonio’s best defender against Flagg.
Grade: B