The San Antonio Spurs acquired an extremely gifted point guard with their No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Dylan Harper was widely expected to be a lottery pick, and rightfully so. But on the night of the draft, it was Harper’s mother, Maria Harper-Marinick, who stole the show.
Harper’s addition to the Spurs has been one of the long-awaited events of the offseason. While there have been several mentions of San Antonio leveraging their high draft pick to acquire a superstar, the Spurs held tight and set their sights on the young point guard out of Rutgers.
When asked about how he felt after being drafted, Harper said:
“I’m feeling everything. All the emotions… from crying, to laughing, to being happy, everything. I just feel everything. I’m excited.”
Maria was then asked about what factors had helped the guard make it to this stage. She responded by saying:
“His flat-out love for the game. His determination. His humility. Just hard work – day in, day out.”
"I'm feeling EVERYTHING… from crying, to laughing, to being happy"
– Dylan Harper, newest San Antonio Spur 👏 pic.twitter.com/BBtk9b7EPa
— NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2025
The experience of being drafted to the NBA is truly one of a kind. While it certainly wasn’t taken for granted by the Spurs’ newest addition, Maria shared her thoughts on watching her son get selected. She said:
“It’s surreal. The NBA it’s a very, very exclusive club. He’s worked so hard to get here.”
Per ESPNW, Dylan Harper’s Mom and her thoughts on him being drafted pic.twitter.com/d1M6GeVvV4
— Big Rich (@resnatron_) June 26, 2025
While the situation was poised to be a heartwarming one for the whole family, with Harper’s father, former NBA player Ron Harper, also in attendance, fans on X had other ideas.
After taking notice of Maria’s stunning looks on draft night, several fans took to social media to share their reactions to the mother of the Spurs’ guard.
“Ron would never have gotten her if he weren’t rich,” said one fan.
“Damn!!! Mommy is fine!!!” added another, brazenly.
One fan tried a different approach and said, “She still married to Ron?”
Meanwhile, another fan simply commented, “Dylan Harper’s mom about to gain a million new followers on Instagram.”
“Wow! That’s his mom. Lol. She looks so young,” claimed one fan while addressing her features.
“Star of the draft besides Cooper Flagg is Dylan Harper’s momma,” added another.
Another fan on X added, “Dylan Harper’s mom is a baddie.”
One fan made a wild suggestion and said, “Let Dylan Harper’s mom announce the rest of the picks.”
“NBA Twitter breaking over Dylan Harper’s mom,” addressed another fan.
One fan simply acknowledged her beauty and said, “Glad that we can all agree on one thing here, she’s truly gracious.”
Barring all the comments made by the fans, it is abundantly clear how supportive Maria has been of her son. Having been by his side throughout his career, she can now see her son’s efforts come to fruition as he joins the big leagues.
Taking A Closer Look At Maria Harper-Marinick
Maria Harper-Marinick was formerly married to ex-NBA player Ron Harper. The two had two children together, Dylan and his older brother, Ron Jr.
Maria’s story is quite inspiring. After migrating from the Philippines to the United States at the age of 7, she grew up in Paterson, New Jersey. Dylan, being of Filipino descent, is quite significant, considering this makes him one of the very few players to represent the nation in the league – other noteworthy players include Jalen Green and Jordan Clarkson.
Harper’s development as a basketball player is deeply rooted in the efforts put in by Maria to support her son. She used to coach him in basketball during his elementary school days up to his senior year in high school. Harper even claimed that she would push him hard to help him strive to be greater.
Her relationship with the five-time NBA champion is a little different from her relationship with her sons. Maria and Ron met in 1998 and welcomed the birth of Ron Jr. in 2000. The two got married in 2005, seeing the arrival of Dylan only a year later. Unfortunately, the marriage only lasted seven years, eventually resulting in divorce in the year 2012.
The split hasn’t necessarily impacted Harper’s relationship with his sons, at least by the looks of it. The former NBA player was in attendance to see his son drafted, and after watching him get selected by the Spurs, Harper was there to embrace his son as well.
Dylan Harper’s love for the game is egged on by the support shown by his mother. By giving him the latitude to focus on playing the game instead of worrying about family affairs, Maria gave her son the ideal environment to develop into the talented player he is today.
As the second-overall pick, there will be some big expectations of Harper to perform, especially with the Spurs, who have produced the last two ROTY winners. Joining a core driven by young talent, Harper and the Spurs will undoubtedly be a team to watch out for next season.
