Dylan Harper with his mom Maria and brother Ron after getting drafted by the San Antonio Spurs

NBA on ESPN

MANILA, Philippines — Filipina Maria Pizarro Harper is going viral after her son Dylan Harper was selected as the No. 2 draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs.

Dylan, who played for Rutgers University, was the second pick of the 2024 NBA draft after the Dallas Mavericks chose Duke University's Cooper Flagg as the first overall pick.

The mother-and-son duo spoke to ESPN after Dylan's selection by the Spurs, whose two previous top picks Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle both ended up with Rookie of the Year plums.

"His flat-out love for the game, his determination, hard work and humility, day in and day out," Maria said.

That brief exposure on television immediately went viral on social media as basketball fans began drawing attention to the former basketball player.

Here are some posts about Maria on X (formerly Twitter): 

Dylan Harper’s mom pic.twitter.com/jy6b7ukvdy

— ????? (@NotLikeRuss) June 26, 2025

Dylan Harper a top 3 NBA draft pick and his mother look like this. God gave this family 99 potential pic.twitter.com/5VXSSNeUVe

— ???????? (@JCF255) June 26, 2025

Dylan Harper mom!????? Yeah run that. She’s so beautiful. pic.twitter.com/KfBxlcSOUL

— ????DarthVegeta ????????? (@AceNewYork) June 26, 2025

YO DYLAN HARPERS MOM FINE AS SHITTTT ???????? I THOUGHT THAT WAS A GIRLFRIEND OR SUM CUZ LAWD HAVE MERCY pic.twitter.com/NjzxwWt0aZ

— Zurt ?? (@Zurt___) June 26, 2025

Wemby after seeing Dylan Harper’s mom pic.twitter.com/CblB5WHycf

— ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? (@ferretallen) June 26, 2025

Dylan Harper’s mom: damn!! pic.twitter.com/feKx1K8Js2

— Adog (@Adog00YouTube) June 26, 2025

Dylan Harper’s mom is a baddddieeeee

— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) June 26, 2025

NBA Twitter after seeing Dylan Harper's mom pic.twitter.com/BCo2ICGWkm

— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) June 26, 2025

dylan harper’s mom lowkey a baddie pic.twitter.com/4aC1839IMi

— ???????????? ? (@HoodiiUno) June 26, 2025 

Maria hails from Bataan and used to play college basketball for the University of New New Orleans. Her father represented the Philippines in the 1968 Mexico Olympics in jai alai.

Dylan is Maria's son with ex-husband and five-time NBA champion Ron Harper. Maria and Ron are also parents to Ron Jr., also a Rutgers alum, who went undrafted in 2022 but is currently signed to the Detroit Pistons on a two-way contract.

: Spurs' Fil-Am No. 2 pick Dylan Harper dedicates NBA dream to Filipina mother