As the 2025 NBA Draft nears, Dylan Harper is one of the highly touted prospects of the incoming class. Before he officially makes the jump to the pros, he touched on his comparison to Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
Harper is a second-generation talent, as his father also played in the NBA. Ron Harper enjoyed a 15-year run in the league, where he won a total of five championships with the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers. Dylan is also the young brother of current Pistons’ two-way player Ron Harper Jr.
Before entering the 2025 draft, Harper played his lone college season at Rutgers. He appeared in 29 games, averaging 19.4 PPG and 4.0 APG in that stretch.
During a recent interview, Harper was asked who he thinks is his NBA player comparison. He quickly answered by saying Cunningham before going on to praise what he likes about the Pistons’ star guard.
“The way he leads, the way he gets to his spots,” Harper said. “His overall game like he’s playing to win. He’s a star player on that team. Overall his mindset going into a game.”
After that, Harper listed some things about his game he feels mirrors Cunningham’s.
“We’re both 6’6,” he continued. “We both use our bodies well. Big guards, can see over a lot of people. Just winners and want to win basically.”
Big guards who want to win… 2025 NBA Draft prospect Dylan Harper talks about his NBA player comparison, Cade Cunningham 👀 🙌 pic.twitter.com/xLGZAQiJpH
— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2025
In a few months, Harper could have another thing in common with Cunningham as being one of the top picks in his draft class. While he isn’t expected to go No. 1 like the All-Star guard in 2021, he is projected to come off the board early. The majority of mock drafts have Harper being selected at No. 2 behind Duke star Cooper Flagg.
