Spurs' 2025 Draft Night Breakdown
Spurfect team does a deep dive into San Antonio's picks, trades, and future
2025 First-round draft night is in the books. Here’s a full breakdown from our team on San Antonio’s selections and what they mean, plus Spurs GM Brian Wright’s first-round reaction straight from Victory Capital Performance Center.
Pick No. 2- Dylan Harper- G-Rutgers
The San Antonio Spurs selected Rutgers guard Dylan Harper with their expected second overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, signaling a continued investment in long-term development over short-term gain.
Harper’s selection is another example of the Spurs trusting their system, in which has previously resulted in consecutive Rookie of the Year winners the past two seasons, after drafting Victor Wembanyama at #1 in 2023 and Stephon Castle at #4 in 2024.
The rookie out of Rutgers is decorated with tons of accolades, averaging 19.4 points on a 48.4 percent shooting in 32.7 minutes per game. He also set the Rutgers’ Freshman scoring record with 564 points and was third amongst NCAA Freshman in ppg. Harper, whose father is five time NBA Champion Ron Harper, was named McDonald’s All-American MVP, becoming the first player to achieve this in Rutgers history.
Harper, according to his former coach, Steve Pikiell, says the guards skill and pedigree make him a rare NBA-ready talent:
“Dylan Harper may be the best point guard in the country. Lefty, downhill, physical guard who can flat our pass the ball and score. Just has a really good knack for when to pass, when to shoot, when to do things. He’s fun”
How can he compliment a Spurs backcourt already featuring a deep rotation of guards, including De’Aaron Fox and Steph Castle? According to Harper:
“The NBA is really positionless basketball, so I mean you could play a bunch of ball handlers and a bunch of people that could get opportunities for themselves, but let other people get opportunities for them.”
Now, the real work begins as Harper will be representing the Silver and Black. His potential in the league is impossible to turn a blind eye to, and we are looking forward to seeing how Harper fits into the young team’s system.
Pick No. 14-Carter Bryant- W- Arizona
For pick 14, the San Antonio Spurs selected wing Carter Bryant out of Arizona. Out of both picks in the first-round, the 14th pick was the biggest question mark. There was speculation all week about whether San Antonio would keep it or use it in a trade package. True to the Spurs “built not bought” philosophy, GM Brian Wright chose the rookie to complement the young team.
The rookie out of Riverside, California was born in 2005, and at 20-years old, he’s already made his impact on the court. In his high school Senior year, he was selected to play in the 2024 McDonald’s All-American Game.
As a Wildcat, Bryant averaged roughly 19 minutes per game, averaged 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists. Bryant remained healthy, and appeared in all 37 games (with 5 as a starter), and led Arizona’s Freshmen in minutes.
As a Spur, you can expect him to guard multiple positions. Like many other players on the Spurs team, he has versatility, and can position himself as 1-4. His 3-point percentage in college at 37.1% make him a catch-and-shoot threat for the opposing team, and brings a defensive presence the Spurs are needing to get them to the next level.
Bryant also has a special connection to the deaf community. Growing up, Bryant’s grandparents were both deaf, and he is fluent in ASL, and is using his NBA platform to bring awareness to the deaf community.
Statement from Spurs’ GM Brian Wright immediately after first-round of 2025 NBA draft
Shortly after the first-round, Spurs GM Brian Wright spoke to the media. Spurfect’s Casey Coggins was in attendance, and was able to transcribe the post-presser below:
Wrights initial remarks:
“[He’s] still getting used to this two-night format, but excited with the outcome. And I think we got two great young players to add to the group going forward and a little surprised, but it ended up being a great night for us.”
On if there were any tempting offers for the No. 2 pick:
“I think at this time of year, you have to go through a process… you have to answer the phone. But I think early on, we knew what we wanted to do and the potential of the player there. So, you know, we listened to things as they came in, but I think we were pretty locked in.”
There's a lot been a lot of talk about position overlap with Dylan and Steph — just a crowded backboard. How do you see that shaking out? What are your thoughts on it?
I think I've said this over the years that positions in this day and age don't matter as much. We just saw a playoff where the team that won had a 6’5” wing that guarded a center. When you start to put offensive skill sets together, having multiple ball handlers, multiple people that can create, multiple people that can put pressure on the rim and make life easier for other players on the floor. I think that's an advantage, and I think we can do that for all 48 minutes. And so I'm not as concerned about positional overlap and trying to find skills and people that can put us in advantage situations and be able to play off that, and he can definitely do that.
You said you were surprised with everything?
Yeah. A little surprised. Not at number two. But we had Carter pretty high on our board, and actually tried to make some moves to potentially go and get him. And so to get him at 14 was a pleasant surprise for us.
What did you like about Carter to think about the possibility of moving up?
He's super versatile. He's a big wing that we think can guard four positions. He spaces the floor well. He's a really good athlete. He's a smart young kid, and he's got the right character and makeup that we look for. So I think we're excited that he was there. And, again, a little surprised. But we think he adds a new dimension to this team going forward.
How long ago did you lock in on Dylan?
We scouted all year. So I think it's been a bit of a two player race up at the top. And even dating back to high school, there's some conversation in that. But, you know, we didn't necessarily lock in until we knew we had to pick. And then obviously, you do the homework, but we knew what type of player he was. And so once we were there, we were pretty confident.
When it came to trading up for Carter, at what point did you realize that you didn't need to do that?
At 13. You never know. And so you're on the phone and you're trying and things just kind of break sometimes.
Backup big is still a need, do you think that will be addressed in free agency? Just what are your thoughts in general about that with that period?
Yeah. You know, we'll see. It's, it's a fun time in the NBA because all these things happen back to back. So I think we start with the second round tomorrow. We kind of see where things go and then and then we'll see.
Can we expect Carter and Harper at summer league?
Yeah. I think we'll get them here and kind of see how everybody's doing and feeling. But that's that's the hope.
You mentioned the second round obviously traded out of that, reportedly today. What did you see or why did you end up making that move?
I think, you know, we wait each thing out, and try to project forward and, you know, how we have our board set up. And so sometimes it makes sense to make some decisions early, and you can always adjust and react accordingly if needed.
Is there a big you have in mind in free agency? Is that doable there? What do you think? Was perhaps targeting a big in the draft.
So I don't think we talked about this. We don't ever approach the draft and just trying to fill a need. Right? I think there are a lot of ways to build your team out, and the draft is a chance that you get to add someone who could fit long term. And so we want to take the long-term talent and, you know, you can figure the roster out in terms of immediate fit, you know, in different ways.
As you went through this process and learned more about Dylan, was there anything that you learned that surprised you about him and the young man that he is?
He’s got a rare confidence with humility. He's a very down to earth, simple kid. Loves basketball. And after spending time with him throughout the process, you can tell that he knows he's a good basketball player, but he wants to be part of a group. He wants to be part of a team. He's willing to sacrifice. He's willing to work for it. And the more we spent time with him, the more we felt confident in that. And, again, you talk to a lot of people around these young men to try and get an understanding of who they are and what they're about, and he really confirmed that for us when we spent time with them.
Having conversations with his dad?
Yeah. We did. We did. It was great because you get some great historical stories, you know, NBA stories. So I don't know how much we told him. We kind of just listened to his stories because they were great, and we had a nice little time together.
How much do you see your guys, like Dylan, and Steph comes from a basketball family as well. How much do you see from guys like that who have that pedigree? How much does it reflect in their own character and habits and stuff like that?
You know what's great is the first time they're hearing a tough message or the truth about basketball isn't coming from us or coming from the coach. They get that at home. How hard you have to work, what it takes to be great, and what it means to sacrifice and be part of something great. Like, they get that. And so we're reinforcing something they've already been taught versus we're trying to teach something for the first time, and we think both have that in spades.
Big picture, Brian, do you feel like everything's coming together like you envisioned it? And where are you now as far as the playoff picture?
I think what we've tried to do is just put one foot in front of the other, stay head down, and hopefully, we look up someday, and we're right where we want to be, but we’re not putting the cart for the horse. We’ve got a lot of work to do over the coming months and coming years. But our hope and goal is to be there as soon as we can be.
There have been some additions to the coaching staff. What can you say about Sean [Sweeney] and Corliss [Williamson] and what they bring?
We're really excited about them. That process was a pretty thorough one in terms of analyzing where we could utilize some help and how they both help us and just their background, their experiences. Both of them have a defensive bend. Both of them are very sharp and serious and hardworking and willing to be part of the team. And so, just like we do the background work on players, we do the same on staff and coaches. And I know we're excited about what they bring to the team, and they're already getting to work and putting long hours in and trying to figure out how we take the next step.
Brian, is it accurate that Wemby is not going to be involved with Eurobasket?
I don't want to speak too much to that, but I will say his rehab process is going well. And, you know, we're hopeful for the future.
Now that the new additions are here in San Antonio, what do you expect from the Spurs in the upcoming rounds in the draft? We’d like to hear from you.