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The San Antonio Spurs will kickstart their NBA preseason action with Dylan Harper in their five-man lineup.
Ahead of their Thursday preseason opener home game against the Atlanta Hawks, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson announced that Harper will join Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Devin Vassell in their starting five.
As he was asked if this might be their particular starting group heading into the new NBA season, Johnson offered an interesting response.
"They're still going to read into whatever they want to read into," Johnson said, per Spurs reporter Raul Dominguez Jr. "We have incredible depth that will, I'm sure, by circumstances out of our control at times even, have a lot of starting and finishing groups just like last year and excited to continue to grow and get these guys on the court and build off of what we've done in camp so far."
Dylan Harper set to start in Spurs preseason opener
As Tobias Harris deals with a left calf strain, the San Antonio Spurs are making necessary adjustments to their lineup ahead of the 2026-27 regular season.
Nonetheless, Dylan Harper entering the starting five is an interesting development for the reigning Western Conference champions amid discussions that he deserves to be in the Spurs' main lineup to start every game.
Harper impressed everyone in the league this past NBA Playoffs for the Spurs, helping San Antonio reach the 2026 NBA Finals. He frequently emerged as the team's second-best player behind Victor Wembanyama while coming off the bench behind De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.
Whether Harper’s starting opportunity becomes a long-term role or a temporary stint with the Spurs remains to be seen as the season approaches.