Spurs’ Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle raise stakes for NBA Cup Quarterfinals vs. Lakers

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Spurs’ Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle raise stakes for NBA Cup Quarterfinals vs. Lakers

Hector Ledesma, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Wed, Dec 10, 2025 ·

3 min read

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Spurs' Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle raise stakes for NBA Cup Quarterfinals vs. Lakers appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The San Antonio Spurs may not have Victor Wembanyama for their first-ever knockout round game in the NBA Cup, but what they'll miss in his talent, they're making up for in focus. Count dynamic young guards Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle among those who are very much looking forward to facing the Los Angeles Lakers .

"Try to go win it all," Harper said of the Spurs' prospects within the league's in-season tournament.

"Big stakes game," Castle added. "In LA, I mean, it doesn't get any better than that. So, it should be fun."

Though they were competitive in the NBA Cup's pool play last year, the quarterfinal game in California will prove the Silver and Black's first foray into its elimination stages.

And while it's not the Spurs' first meeting with the Lakers this season, it will be in several ways.

NBA Cup Quarterfinal will feature different Spurs and Lakers teams

San Antonio lost in Los Angeles on November 5.

Not on the court in the 118-116 outcome: Austin Reaves , LeBron James , De'Aaron Fox or the rookie, Harper . Wembanyama did play that night. He won't this time after the Spurs , amid speculation that he may suit up, ruled him out because of the same calf strain that's kept him sidelined since mid-November.

For Harper, it represents his first shot at one of the NBA's two most storied franchises.

"Didn't get to play in LA the first time," the former Rutgers star continued. "So, I mean, going to play in LA is fun. But just excited to go out there."

With James in the line-up, it also means a shot at one of the game's all-time legends as well as one of its current premier players.

"Luka [ Doncic ] didn't really come on the scene 'till, like, I was in middle school, high school," the 19-year-old rookie said. "But, as someone who's a big guard, you kind of watch him growing up, his film stuff, his pace, his height. He gets to his spots and moves and all of that."

Harper then made sure to clarify.

"But now we're competing, so just going out there with that mindset of we're all the same."

The Lakers sit second in the season's Western Conference standings. The Spurs hover around the fifth spot , though only a loss separates the two heading into their match-up.

"It's the never-ending fight when you play a team sport," Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said. "And it's my job to make sure that we win that battle and impose our will, that we are going to do what's best for the team every single time, knowing that it won't happen, 'cause no one's perfect. But that will be the standard that we play to and strive to play to."

The winner will face the winner between the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns in the semifinals of the West bracket in the NBA Cup. The final four of the tournament takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The loser will face the loser between OKC and Phoenix. The Spurs would host that game before their season resumes as scheduled vs. the Washington Wizards on December 17.

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