NBA's Top Rising Sophomores Face Key 2026-27 Season
A look at the intriguing second-year players, including Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, whose roles and development will be key storylines for the upcoming
With the 2026 NBA offseason largely over, attention turns to the players entering their second professional season. A Yahoo Sports analysis highlights five of the most interesting rising sophomores, excluding the top three finishers from last season's Rookie of the Year race.
The focus is on players poised for significant development or facing new challenges in the 2026-27 campaign.
Dylan Harper's Spurs Role in Question
Dylan Harper, the San Antonio Spurs guard selected second overall in 2025, lived up to his billing as a dynamic shot-creator. The 19-year-old averaged 11.8 points and 3.9 assists in 22.6 minutes per game off the bench during the regular season, shooting 50.5% from the field. He was just the fourth guard since 1990 to shoot better than 50% as a rookie.
His playoff performance was even more impressive. Harper increased his scoring and efficiency during the Spurs' run to the 2026 NBA Finals, defending elite guards and showcasing a polished finishing touch. He scored a team-high 25 points in a Finals elimination game. The report suggests he occasionally looked like San Antonio's second-best offensive option, especially when De'Aaron Fox was injured.
Harper's path to a larger role is complicated. Stephon Castle is entrenched as a starter after a stellar sophomore year, and GM Brian Wright has expressed "ultimate confidence" in Fox. ESPN's Michael C. Wright reported that "calls from Harper's camp for a spot in the starting lineup will grow louder." However, Harper himself told RG.org this summer that starting "is not going to affect me and how I approach every day." The key question is whether he can become a steady primary facilitator without the safety net of playing alongside Fox or Castle.
Ace Bailey's Crowded Jazz Outlook
Ace Bailey, Harper's former Rutgers teammate, had a different rookie experience with the Utah Jazz. He played on a team not focused on winning, leading the Jazz in total minutes. He averaged 13.8 points per game, fifth among qualifying rookies, and made the All-Rookie Second Team.
The landscape in Utah has shifted dramatically. The roster now features three players who averaged over 20 points per game last season: Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Keyonte George. Also, the Jazz used the second overall pick in the 2026 draft on Kansas wing Darryn Peterson.
This creates a logjam for playing time. With Markkanen, Jackson, and George locked into starting roles, and veteran Jusuf Nurkić a potential starter at center, only one starting spot may remain for Bailey or Peterson. Bailey started 61 games as a rookie. The report speculates Coach Will Hardy might prefer starting with more size, potentially pushing Bailey to a sixth-man role.
Utah's apparent shift from rebuilding to competing adds more competition. The team added veteran wings Josh Okogie and Josh Green, who offer proven 3-and-D skills. They join Brice Sensabaugh and Kyle Filipowski in competing for frontcourt minutes. A back injury that limited Bailey's Summer League to eight minutes added further uncertainty. His path to significant opportunity is now far more complex.
Other Notable Sophomores
The Yahoo Sports analysis also briefly mentions three other intriguing second-year players, though detailed profiles were cut off in the provided source text. The report previously considered the most interesting potential free agents for 2027 and comeback players for the upcoming season. It explicitly chose to exclude Rookie of the Year winner Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks), runner-up Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets), and third-place finisher VJ Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers) to cast a wider net.
The development of these sophomores will be a subplot to watch as teams finalize their rotations for the new season.
