After the Spurs’ season ended with a 94-90 loss to the Knicks in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals, San Antonio guard Devin Vassell said rookie Dylan Harper was “upset with playing time and different roles” during the year—but added that Harper “stepped up” when i
The Spurs didn’t just lose the 2026 NBA Finals to the New York Knicks—they lost them in the toughest way possible, with a double-digit lead in all of their defeats in the series.
And in the middle of a season that felt like it slipped away one moment at a time. Dylan Harper still stood out for what he did on the biggest stage. The rookie from Rutgers didn’t look like he was playing his first year at the professional level. In Game 5, even after the Spurs were already fighting uphill, he finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Then came the play that will sting. Harper missed a layup late in Game 5 that would have tied the game. Instead, the Knicks closed it out with a 94-90 season-ending defeat for San Antonio.
For all the damage the missed shot can leave behind, Harper’s performance across the Finals was the kind you don’t forget. He scored in double figures in all five Finals games.
The contrast between that production and the frustration Harper reportedly carried at times during the season is what Devin Vassell brought into the light during the Spurs’ season-ending press conference.
Vassell said Harper had been upset with the way his minutes and role were handled—without minimizing what Harper ultimately delivered when the playoffs demanded more.
“He was upset with playing time and different roles he was in, but when we needed him most, he stepped up. We have a star in the making. I know that he’s gonna put so much work in the offseason,” Vassell said, via Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.
That admission lands with particular weight because it helps explain the uneasy feeling of a rookie season lived in fragments—talent acknowledged, but roles shifting. It also sets a clear emotional marker for what Harper will want moving forward.
Even now. it isn’t simple for San Antonio to slot him into the kind of responsibility his Finals performances suggest he’s ready for. The Spurs’ depth chart puts Harper behind De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. And in crunch time during the 2026 NBA Finals. it became clear the Spurs had to play their guys out of position to accommodate as much talent on the floor as possible.
Harper is undeniable, though, and the path ahead seems obvious: San Antonio will try to clear space for the rookie. If his postseason shows what he can do when games get tight. Vassell’s comments show what Harper wanted all along—more time. a clearer role. and the opportunity to step up without feeling moved around.
For a Spurs team already processing the bitter reality of leading big and losing anyway, that combination—frustration on the way in, impact on the way out—might be the one story from the series that points toward something better.
San Antonio Spurs Dylan Harper Devin Vassell New York Knicks 2026 NBA Finals Game 5 Rutgers De'Aaron Fox Stephon Castle
So he was upset… but still cooked in the Finals? Make it make sense.
I guess the Spurs messing with roles like that is why they lost all those games by double digits?? Like idk sounds like coaching drama.
Wait the article says he missed a layup late and that woulda tied it, so he basically cost them the title… right? But then they say he scored 25 and had 4 assists. I’m confused.
“Star in the making” blah blah but if he was upset about minutes all season why are we pretending that’s not a problem. Also Spurs couldn’t win even with a double digit lead? That sounds like the Knicks just got hot for like 1 minute and that’s it, idk. I just hope he doesn’t stay mad and starts demanding trades or whatever.