No player from the Philippines has won an NBA title, but two players with Filipino heritage — New York Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson and San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper — will meet in this month’s NBA Finals.
One of them will be part of a championship team.
Clarkson, whose mother is Filipino American, signed with the Knicks last July for his 12th NBA season after stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Utah Jazz.
He has also suited up for the Philippine national basketball team, including Gilas Pilipinas in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“Definitely inspiring to the Filipino-Americans and Filipinos all around the country. It’s definitely going to be fun to watch,” Clarkson said of his matchup with Harper.
“One of us two taking a championship back home to the Philippines and representing that well.”
Clarkson, who turns 34 on Sunday, said he has been following Harper’s rise in his rookie season.
“He has been really good throughout the whole year. I’ve been watching him, keeping up with him, as well, him being so young and having so much poise throughout this whole playoffs,” Clarkson said.
“It’s a great sight to see a young star coming in this league and doing what he’s doing.”
Harper, the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper and Maria Pizarro Harper, whose family traces its roots to the Philippines, said the Finals matchup carries special meaning. (GMA Network)
“Me and him get to do something really special, representing our country, where we’re from, represent everything on the biggest stage in basketball,” Harper said.
“I feel like over there in the Philippines, basketball is probably the biggest thing.
“I think we’re very excited for that and we’re just very blessed and grateful to be in this position.”
Harper’s mother, Maria, is a high school boys assistant coach in New Jersey who coached Dylan and his brother Ron Jr., who now plays for the Boston Celtics.
“My mom, she’s not my coach no more, so I don’t get it as much anymore,” Harper said of motherly basketball advice.
“But regular mom stuff with a little mix of basketball here and there.
“At the end of the day it’s more of, as long as you’re happy, I’m good.”
For the first time, two Filipino American players will feature in the NBA Finals, with Harper and the Spurs facing Clarkson and the Knicks.
Harper and San Antonio reached the Finals after ousting the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, 111-103.
Harper, the second overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in 27 minutes off the bench.
The performance capped a strong series for the 20-year-old as he helped the Spurs return to the Finals for the first time since 2014.
The Rutgers standout has exceeded expectations in his first playoff run, including a seven-steal performance in San Antonio’s Game 1 win over Oklahoma City.
Harper has also drawn praise from Spurs coach Mitch Johnson for showing maturity beyond his years in his rookie campaign.
The Knicks, meanwhile, enter the Finals well-rested after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Clarkson, the 2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, is averaging 5.4 points and nearly two rebounds in about 12 minutes per game during New York’s playoff run.
This will be Clarkson’s second NBA Finals appearance.
He was also part of the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team that lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 Finals.
“It’s a blessing to represent the Philippines, where I’m from. I think me and Jordan Clarkson are doing a great job doing that,” said Harper.
The Finals will be especially meaningful for the basketball-mad Philippines, where the NBA has long had a large fan base and where Clarkson has been embraced for representing Gilas Pilipinas.
In recent years, more Filipino American players have entered the NBA.
Jalen Green was drafted by Houston, Ron Harper Jr. is a two-way player for Boston, and Jared McCain, who plays for Oklahoma City, has said he traces his roots to the Philippines through his mother.
Harper is now following the path opened by Raymond Townsend and later Clarkson for Filipino American players in the NBA.
The Finals also revive a historic rivalry between New York and San Antonio.
The teams last met in the 1999 NBA Finals, when Tim Duncan and David Robinson led the Spurs past a Knicks team powered by Patrick Ewing, Latrell Sprewell, and Allan Houston.
The 2026 NBA Finals tips off June 3 in the United States, or June 4 in Manila, with the Spurs hosting the Knicks in Game 1.
The opener is scheduled at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
