All About Dylan Harper's Parents, Basketball Players Maria and Ron Harper
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NEED TO KNOW
- Dylan Harper is a guard for the San Antonio Spurs
- His parents, Ron and Maria Harper, have their own basketball careers
- Dylan's dad played in the NBA and his mom has been a coach for nearly 30 years
Even before he was a NBA player, basketball was a big part of Dylan Harper's life.
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Dylan, who is a guard for the San Antonio Spurs, followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ron Harper Jr., who plays for the Boston Celtics, but the family's history with the sport goes back farther than that.
Dylan's dad is Ron Harper Sr., who played for the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, among other teams. Meanwhile, his mom, Maria Harper, has been his basketball coach since elementary school.
"We're playing the sport we love. They're playing it, I'm coaching it. It's a family affair, and that's how pure it is in our family," Maria told Jersey Sports Zone in April 2023.
Now, the Harpers will be rooting for Dylan as he plays with the Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
Here's everything to know about Dylan Harper's parents, Ron and Maria Harper.
Ron played in the NBA
Ron Harper #4 of the Los Angeles Lakers during a game in Los Angeles, California.Credit: Harry How/Allsport via Getty
Ron played for the L.A. Lakers from 1999 to 2001. He was a point guard and shooting guard who helped lead the team to two back-to-back NBA championships in 2000 and 2001.
Before joining the Lakers, he played for the Chicago Bulls from 1994 to 1999 — alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen — winning three championships during his time on the team.
Prior to the Bulls and the Lakers, Ron competed for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1989 and then the L.A. Clippers from 1989 to 1994. His NBA career ultimately spanned over a dozen seasons from 1986 to 2001.
Maria is a former basketball player for the University of New Orleans
Maria took to the court herself as a Division I basketball player for the University of New Orleans from 1993 to 1996, per the Rutgers University website.
According to The Springfield Student, Maria's love for basketball began in fifth grade when she first started playing after school. She continued to play through high school, eventually scoring a scholarship to the University of New Orleans.
In a July 2023 interview with The Athletic, Maria said she "was super scrappy" during her time as a college basketball player.
"I defended the hell out of the ball. I created offense through defense," she shared. "I wasn't a knockdown shooter. I looked to get my teammates involved. And I just loved it so much."
Ron and Maria were married from 2005 to 2012
Ron Harper and Maria Pizarro.Credit: J.Sciulli/WireImage
Ron and Maria met in 1998, and they welcomed their first child, son Ron Jr., in April 2000.
According to The Athletic, Ron and Maria married on New Year's Eve in 2005. Later that spring, Dylan was born in March 2006. Mia, their youngest, followed in 2010. The couple called it quits two years later in 2012.
“Those years were very tough for me,” Maria told The Athletic. “My kids' lives are not fairy tales, like people would assume.”
Maria taught Dylan how to play basketball
Dylan Harper #2 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights dribbles during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans at Madison Square Garden on January 25, 2025 in New York City.Credit: Sarah Stier/Getty
Maria was Dylan's basketball coach from elementary school all the way through senior year of high school.
In a December 2024 interview with Swish Cultures, Dylan opened up about how his mom helped him become the basketball star he is today, saying, "She's been there from the jump."
"She was my first ever coach. She's everything to me," he continued. "She does everything for me. She's always a provider, no matter what, hard times, good times, she's been there for me through thick and thin."
Maria is a basketball coach with almost 30 years of experience
After her college basketball days, Maria took her love of basketball to the sidelines and started her coaching career, which has lasted nearly 30 years, according to The Springfield Student.
“Always being passionate about the sports I played, I wanted to continue being involved in the game (specifically basketball) as an adult,” Maria told the outlet. “Coaching was the natural progression for me to stay connected to the game I love.”
Her first coaching job was as an assistant coach in Chicago before becoming the head coach of the girls' varsity team at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, N.J. Maria later stopped coaching for a few years so she could attend Ron Jr.'s basketball games.
In 2019, she returned to the court, becoming an assistant coach of the boys' basketball team at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., where both her sons played.
"She's been terrific," Don Bosco Prep coach Kevin Diverio told The Athletic. "She really commands the respect of the kids. She's no-nonsense, all business, but at the same time, she brings a little bit of the motherly factor to the team that I certainly can't provide."
Dylan credits his dad for his strong work ethic
Ron Harper and son Dylan Harper at a basketball game on December 6, 2023 in White Plains, New York.Credit: Luther Schlaifer/NBAE via Getty
As a former professional basketball player, Ron knows how much it takes to play in the NBA. He instilled that in Dylan, who told Hoops Hype in May 2025 that his dad taught him "just how hard you gotta work to really make it."
"He has stories for days about work ethic, Michael Jordan work ethic, Kobe [Bryant] work ethic," he recalled. "It could just be what they did, and how they carry themselves every day. It's definitely that."
Dylan's dad might be an NBA legend, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to take him on the court. When asked in November 2024 which player from NBA history he would like to go up against, Dylan told Bleacher Report, "My dad."
"He talks a lot. Starting to get tired of it," he joked. "So any NBA player, I'm playing my dad one-on-one."
As for Dylan's basketball skills, Ron recognized them early on. "When Dylan was 5 years old, I told people he was going to be really good," he told The Athletic. "He reminded me of me. I was the youngest in a family of five boys. I watched them practice, and then I tried to go out there and do the same things."
Dylan's parents are his biggest supporters
Dylan Harper before the 2025 NBA Draft on June 24, 2025 in New York City.Credit: Sarah Stier/Getty
His family continued to be a strong support system for Dylan.
At a press conference ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, when asked what getting drafted would mean for him and his dad, Dylan told reporters, "It's definitely going to mean, just a lot to him, but a lot to everyone else like my mom, my brother, my grandparents and everyone else who's there."
"Just because they kind of see me through the journey, and watch me go about my days," he added. "Even when I was high and low, they still stuck with me no matter what."
His mom was present when Dylan and the Spurs advanced to the 2026 NBA Finals in May 2026.
Read the original article on People