Jun 5, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) reacts in the fourth quarter during game two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Jun 5, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) reacts in the fourth quarter during game two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
I thought we buried the "Kon Knueppel is better than Dylan Harper" talk in the mud before San Antonio's postseason run, but apparently not. ESPN's yearly top 100 players list is being released, and in today's installment of the top 50-11, the Spurs' sophomore is two spots below Charlotte's prized shooter. That's a significant swing, considering he should be at least several spots ahead.
Harper earned his rep in the playoffs
Harper played all 23 games of San Antonio's run to the Finals and averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 26.7 minutes a night. He shot 51.5% from the floor with a 61.1 TS% against Portland, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and New York. Four rounds, four coaching staffs with a full week of tape on him, and none of them got him off the floor.
The wildest part is that ESPN put that evidence in Harper's own blurb. Six playoff games with at least 15 points on 65% shooting or better; the most by any guard in NBA postseason history. Not the most by a rookie guard. Any guard. That's where he separated himself from anyone in his draft class not named Cooper Flagg.
Knueppel, on the other hand, was so bad in Charlotte's play-in games that they benched him in overtime of their win over Miami, and probably wish they had in their blowout loss to Orlando. Kon shot a combined 5/22 FG and 1/12 3PT. He was awful.
Harper was the better defender, too. D. Harp finished the regular season with a 112,5 defensive rating and 1.4 defensive win shares in 1,558 minutes. Knueppel put up a 1116.4 and 0.6 in about 1K more minutes than San Antonio's new Sixth Man.
Knueppel is nice but he's not Harper
I want to be fair to the former Duke star because 273 threes is not nothing. Kon had a sensational introduction to the league. He became the first rookie ever to lead the NBA in three-point makes, shooting 42.5% on 7.9 attempts a night. The Hornets' young sniper posted a 63.3 TS% during the regular season and finished second for Rookie of the Year.
That's a genuinely historic shooting season. He earned every vote he got. But read the rest of his section. Most of it is spent warning that LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges are gone, and that Knueppel just lost the guys who created for him. That's a great argument against ranking him ahead of Harper. His 18.5 points came inside a strong offense with an established primary creator.
I won't pretend Harper doesn't benefit from Victor Wembanyama's gravity when he shares the floor with the Spurs' franchise star, but many of his points are him creating for himself. He beats good defenders with his handle, footwork, and assortment of finishes around the basket. The kid was one of the best players on the floor in the NBA Finals at 20 years old. He's going to keep getting better.
50 is too low for Harper. Ranking Knueppel in front of him is even more egregious. It wasn't just Spurs Nation watching this kid show out on the national stage over four rounds. We all watched. He's already proven that he's, at worst, the second-best player from his class, and Year 2 will make it undeniable.
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