How a game ball and a strip of tape marked more Dylan Harper progress

San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) drives between Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) and Suns guard Devin Booker (15) as Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) looks on during an NBA basketball game in Phoenix, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) (Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press) PHOENIX - This time, when Dylan Harper crashed in a heap near the exact spot where he'd crumpled to the same floor a year and a week earlier, he was not forced to hobble out of Mortgage Matchup Center on crutches.This time, he rose back to his feet under his own power, and no trainer had to strap his leg into a walking boot. But this time, he still ended the night seeking medical attention.Or, to be more accurate, seeking medical tape. The game ball from the Spurs' 122-96 Monday romp over the Suns rested on a shelf in Harper's locker, and it was his to keep. But the second-year guard figured he needed a way to remember why he earned it, and he didn't want anybody to write directly on the souvenir.So his solution was to affix a strip of white tape to the ball, and then use a pen to spell out the details of his big accomplishment. Which left him with only one question. "What was my accomplishment again?" Harper asked.To answer that, it was hard to know where to start. One way to put it was that, even on a night when Victor Wembanyama continued to do lots and lots of absurd Victor Wembanyama things, Harper still managed to steal the show for stretches of the Spurs' ninth consecutive victory.What wound up being hand-printed on the medical tape, though, was something more precise. With his 17-point, four-assist outing on Monday - much of it crammed into a breathtaking third-quarter flurry - Harper became only the third guard in the history of the NBA to accumulate at least 1,000 points and 300 assists while shooting at least 50% from the field in his first 80 career games.The other two guys you might have heard of.One is Earvin Johnson, otherwise known as Magic.The other is Michael Jeffrey Jordan.That's heady company, but at least one student of basketball history thinks Harper can become worthy of it."He's the kind of player," Wembanyama said, "where only he can contain himself."Sometimes Harper still does. Sometimes, like in the first few minutes after halftime on Monday, he loses his focus, and loses his edge. That's why Spurs coach Mitch Johnson felt it was so urgent to deliver a forceful, blunt message as San Antonio's huge lead showed signs of slipping away. "He was not up to that standard at the start of the third quarter," Johnson said. "And so there was a timeout, and we discussed that.""(The message) was received," Harper said. San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, left, talks with Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) during an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) (Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press) For the remainder of that third quarter, the 6-foot-5 guard showed over and over again that, as Wembanyama put it, "when he gets to his spot, he's unstoppable."Harper scored 12 consecutive points for the Spurs stringing together, two step-back midrange jumpers, one spinning rise-and-fire swish, and a couple of driving finishes. On two of those plays, he was fouled and scored anyway.This was the standard to which Johnson was referring. As for the approach? To Harper, it's simple."The biggest thing is just put pressure on the defense," Harper said. "And in my head, if there's one defender on me, try to go score."Stylistically, many of his left-handed moves evoke memories of Manu Ginobili. But in terms of his ability to score among the NBA's trees? That's more like Tony Parker, the former Spurs point guard who at the peak of his powers used to rank among the league leaders in field-goal percentage at the rim.That's where Harper is now. This season, the 6-foot-5 dynamo is converting more than 77% of his attempts in the restricted area, which leads the NBA. The players right behind him on that list (Pascal Siakam, Wembanyama, Walker Kessler, Domantas Sabonis and Anthony Davis) are all big men.It's hard to believe that a little more than a year ago, he feared that the start to his NBA career might be doomed. Back then, just a few games into his rookie season, he crashed to the floor in Phoenix and couldn't get up. He left the arena on crutches, and it wasn't until later that he was relieved to find out the calf strain would keep him sidelined for only a month.At the time, Harper wasn't worried that his early progress was about to be sidetracked. "It was more, how do I come back better than I was?" Harper recalled.He figured that part out, as anyone who watched him in the playoffs last spring can attest. And when he crashed to the floor again on Monday night, with his leg bending awkwardly and sending temporary panic through those watching from the Spurs' bench?Harper said he experienced no frightful flashbacks to last November."That feels like years and years ago," Harper said.If there was room on the strip of medical tape, he could have written that part of his accomplishment, too.SubscribeThere’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at How a game ball and a strip of tape marked more Dylan Harper progress.