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The Harper family is becoming quite the powerhouse in basketball. Of course, it is Dylan Harper who is most in the spotlight right now. The San Antonio Spurs made the Rutgers product the number two overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Harper put his skills on display and showed everybody why he could be a future All-Star with averages of 16 points and two assists per game during the Summer League, and he is projected to play a key role on a Spurs team looking to jump to contention status sooner rather than later.
Harper's dad, Ron Harper, won five championships during his time in the NBA, and Ron Harper Jr. was under contract with the Detroit Pistons until just days ago. Another Harper has broken into the public eye. Dylan's mom and Ron's wife, Maria Harper, went viral on draft day, but just who is Maria?
Who is Dylan Harper's mom, Maria Harper?
Maria Harper went viral on draft night during her son's interview session after being drafted by the Spurs. While being interviewed by Monica McNutt, Dylan detailed the emotions of making it to the league and what he brings to the table for his new team. Additionally, Ron Jr. wished his little brother good luck and affirmed how proud the family is of his basketball journey.
What most caught the eye of social media was Maria, though, both for her stunning looks and mesmerizing draft-day outfit, and for what she had to say about why her son made it this far in hoops. Dylan has praised his mother as being a big reason why he has made it to this stage in the basketball world.
Maria said, “His flat-out love for the game, his determination, his humility, and his hard work [is what got him to the NBA].”
Those were kind words from someone who has been there every step of the way during Dylan's journey, but Maria has an impressive basketball story in her own right. Maria played Division 1 college basketball at the University of New Orleans from 1993-96. Maria wasn't blessed as a shooter, but she was a gritty player who always gave maximum effort.”
In an interview with The Athletic, Maria said, “I was super scrappy. I defended the hell out of the ball. I created offense through defense. I wasn't a knockdown shooter. I looked to get my teammates involved. And I just loved it so much.”
The commitment to hard work and the little things, as well as an advanced understanding of playmaking, were traits clearly passed down to Dylan. After all, Maria coached Dylan most of his life. Maria served as the head coach at DePaul Catholic High School. She'd also become Dylan's first coach in elementary school and would remain his coach all the way through high school as an assistant at Don Bosco Preparatory High School. During his high school tenure under his mother's tutelage, Dylan would establish himself as one of the best players in the country.
The other hoopers in the Harper family
Dylan averaged 22.4 points per game en route to a state championship during his senior year of high school. he became a five-star recruit and would commit to Rutgers, the same school that his older brother played at. For the Scarlet Knights, Dylan teamed up with fellow five-star Ace Bailey to form one of the greatest recruiting classes ever for a non-Blue Blood program.
Without much help around them, the freshman pairing wasn't able to lead their squad to much team success, but Dylan displayed his NBA-level talent all season long. Dylan averaged 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and four assists per game. He is a versatile player who can do a little bit of everything, and the Spurs believe he has superstar potential alongside Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and De'Aaron Fox, the former two of whom have won each of the last two Rookie of the Year awards, something Harper could realistically do a third straight season for the Spurs.
Dylan's brother, Ron Jr., has already had a taste of the NBA as well. Ron Jr. was widely considered arguably the best undrafted player in the class of 2022. He hasn't found a home yet, but he has spent time with the Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons, and numerous G-League programs. Thus far, Ron Jr. has averaged four points and seven rebounds through three seasons and 11 total games played. Ron Jr.'s rebounding, in particular, is impressive and will surely land him another contract in the NBA.
He was most recently signed to a two-way deal with the Pistons, but the team released him on July 24. Ron Jr.'s father and namesake, Ron Sr., had quite the NBA career. Ron started his career as a scoring machine with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 22.9 points per game as a first-year player and only trailed Chuck Person in Rookie of the Year voting.
Eventually, Ron would take more of a team-oriented role and focus on defense and the dirty work that winning requires. The point guard's averages plummeted with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, but both of those teams were stacked with stars and went down in the history books as dynasties. Ron won five championships over his last handful of seasons with those two teams.
Basketball runs in the family, and the future is bright for Dylan Harper, especially because he has Maria, Ron Sr., and Ron Jr. to guide him through his journey.
