Filipino American Rutgers player is the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft

SCREEN CAPTURE / ESPN

Dylan Harper and his mother Maria. were interviewed on ESPN after he was the No. 2 pick.

A Filipino American basketball player was the second overall pick in the National Basketball League Draft held Wednesday.

Dylan Harper, whose mother is a Filipino American, was the No. 2 selection in the 2025 NBA draft. Picked by the San Antonio Spurs, the 6'6" guard played only a year for Rutgers University in New Jersey before becoming pro.

During his lone year at Rutgers the 19-year old averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.

Harper had barely sat down in the Green Room after the No. 1 draft pick, Cooper Flagg, was selected by the Dallas Mavericks, when he heard his name.

Harper is the son of former Laker/Bulls player Ron Harper and his Filipino American mother, Maria Pizarro, who coaches boys' high school basketball at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey.

Harper's mother was born in Bataan, Philippines and played college basketball at the Univeristy of New Orleans. Her other son, Ron, Jr., is in his third year in the NBA playing for the Detroit Pistons.

"We're playing the sport we love," Maria told Jersey Sports Zone in April 2023. "They're playing it, I'm coaching it. It's a family affair, and that's how pure it is in our family." 

Speaking about his mother, who raised Dylan, Ron, Jr., and their sister after her divorce from Ron Harpers, Sr. in 2012. “She means the world to me,” Dylan said. “She even coached me from first grade all the way to senior high school. For her to see this moment, and just to be there for my journey — I love my mom. Everything I do is definitely for her.”

While Dylan's father is already welll known for his five rings (3 with the Chicago Bullls and 2 with the Laakers), His mother almost stole Dylan's moment on draft night as she went viral on social media. 

Pizarro is not kidding when she says the basketball is the family's blood. Speaking to The Athletic in 2023, Maria's influence over Dylan was made very clear.

'I’m not big on girlfriends or house parties,' she said. 'We get up, we go to school, we have our activity, whether it’s basketball or it’s dance, we get our homework done, and that’s about it. That’s the tone that I set in the household.'

She said of Dylan's basketball skills: "What makes him good is that he’s a Swiss army knife. He sees the floor like an eagle. He knows how to get his teammates involved.

"He’s a very capable scorer if you need him to be, but because he has a point guard mentality, he wants his teammates to succeed, even before himself."

Harper and his mother, Maria Pizarro, spoke to the ESPN cameras moments after the he was picked by the Spurs.

'His flat-out love for the game, his determination, hard work and humility, day in and day out,' a visibly emotional Maria told ESPN when asked about what had led her son to the NBA.

With the addition of Harper, the Spurs could be a formidable force next season as the team fine-tunes its strategy of putting the best players on the floor, no matter The San Antonio team has the last two rookies of year in Victor Wembanyama (2023-2024) and Stephon Castle (2024-2025). In addition, the Spurs acquired already proven vet  De'Aaron Fox last year.

Dylan Harper joins a slowly growing list of active Filipino American players in the NBA: His brother Ron Harper Jr of the Detroit Pistons, Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz and Jalen Green, who was recently traded to the Phoenix Suns and Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ers.

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