Dylan Harper is still proud of what the Spurs achieved despite the NBA Finals defeat

1 hour ago 2

Before the 2025-26 season started, the expectations for the San Antonio Spurs were for them to finally compete for a postseason spot with a healthy Victor Wembanyama and a young core around him. As the season progressed, people noticed that the Spurs were not only matching those expectations, but they were shattering them.

The Spurs quickly became one of the best teams in the Western Conference, even beating the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, multiple times in the regular season. They were a promising team, but only a few people expected them to become a title contender out of nowhere.

Dylan Harper and the Spurs are proud of what they achieved in the 2025-26 season

As a team with a core of young players like 20-year-old Dylan Harper, 21-year-old Stephon Castle, and 22-year-old Wembanyama, this Spurs team took the NBA by storm. No one saw them coming as a title contender, but they quickly put themselves in the upper echelon of the Western Conference.

Many people did not expect this because most NBA fans saw the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets as the Thunder's primary rivals in their title defense. That was not the case because the Spurs leapfrogged those teams and became the best team in the Western Conference, even beating the Thunder in the Conference Finals.

MORE: Dylan Harper had some frustrations about his role during the 2025-26 season

As a young player who had a tremendous postseason run, Harper knows this loss was heartbreaking. Despite the Spurs being sad amid defeat to the New York Knicks, he and his teammates are proud of what they achieved as one of the youngest teams to reach the Finals.

"We learned a lot in this Playoff run. A lot of people counted us out, and I think that we just proved people wrong. It didn't go how we wanted to go, but we definitely learned a lot," Harper said after the defeat to the Knicks in Game 5.

The tides have turned now, as the Spurs now have targets on their backs. After this surprising run to the NBA Finals, a lot of teams will be scouting the Spurs and treating them as a top team. It will be an important lesson for the Spurs, but with this core group, they can overcome those obstacles and learn what to do.