San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper is in the midst of a fantastic start to his NBA career, but he’ll now reportedly be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the No. 2 overall pick is expected to miss “multiple weeks” after exiting Sunday’s game against the Phoenix Suns with a calf injury:
He hurt his calf while defending a Nick Richards dunk in the second quarter. He appeared to be in pain after coming down from the shot block attempt and checked out before heading to the locker room.
Harper left the arena on crutches and in a walking boot.
Harper, a standout in his lone season at Rutgers last year, is making a strong case for Rookie of the Year so far, putting up 14.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game while playing 25.8 minutes per game off the bench.
He has the third-best scoring average among rookies, trailing only VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers and Cedric Coward of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Behind Harper’s strong play off the bench, the Spurs have started the season 5-0 for the first time in franchise history.
Harper’s injury will be the latest member of the Spurs’ backcourt to be sidelined. San Antonio is already without star point guard De’Aaron Fox, who has a hamstring injury. When Fox will return is still unclear.
With the lack of depth at point guard, the Spurs have used Stephon Castle at point guard. The reigning Rookie of the Year is putting up 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
While being without Harper will be a major blow, the Spurs have an MVP candidate in Victor Wembanyama to lean on. The former Rookie of the Year is looking even better in his third campaign, putting up 30.2 points, 14.6 boards, 4.8 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.
