by Julian Bothamley and Dylan Bothamley
The 2026 NBA playoffs have seen the emergence of three promising young players whose roots trace to the great basketball tradition of the Philippines.
Jalen Green, Jared McCain, and Dylan Harper have played important roles in each of their teams’ efforts to survive the NBA playoff gauntlet.
Jalen Green traces his Filipino roots through his mother, Bree Purganan, and has spoken proudly about representing Filipino fans on the NBA stage.
Green was one of the most exciting prospects of his generation: a McDonald’s All-American and the first player to sign with the G League Ignite pathway before the Houston Rockets took him No. 2 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
In 2025, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns as the centerpiece of a package for superstar Kevin Durant.
In the 2026 postseason, Green had one of Phoenix’s brightest moments, scoring 36 points in the play-in win over the Golden State Warriors that pushed the Suns into the playoff bracket.
He scored in high volumes against the league’s best team in a first-round matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the Suns fell short of advancing.
Green is only 24, and his talent is undeniable.
Jared McCain was on the other side of the Suns-Thunder matchup. McCain traces his Filipino heritage to his mother Jina.
The Thunder guard entered the NBA out of Duke, where he’d earned a Kyle Macy Freshman All-America selection before the Philadelphia 76ers drafted him No. 16 overall in 2024.
Philadelphia traded him to Oklahoma City this February, where he joined the defending champion Thunder team. McCain added much-needed shooting to an otherwise extremely deep roster that has a good chance to repeat as champions.
McCain played a supporting role in Oklahoma City’s sweep of Green’s Suns. His future is promising as he’s already established himself as a contributor on a championship-level team, and his shooting gives him a clear route toward a bigger role in the years ahead.
Dylan Harper, meanwhile, may be the most exciting active story for Filipino fans right now.
As the No. 2 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, Harper had a very efficient rookie season and is playing a significant role in the Spurs’ ongoing quest to unseat the Thunder as NBA champs.
Harper was born to play basketball, and championships run in his blood. His mother, Maria, hails from Bataan, Philippines, and played college basketball for the University of New Orleans. His father is the great Ron Harper, who played alongside Michael Jordan for the legendary 1990’s Chicago Bulls.
Harper’s older brother, Ron Harper Jr., also found a home on the Boston Celtics this season in a supporting role for one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference with a good chance to make the NBA Finals.
It’s almost certain that either the Spurs or the Thunder will win the Western Conference. And this raises the real possibility that the NBA Finals could see a matchup with both teams featuring a member of the Filipino diaspora.
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