By MARK REY MONTEJO
As the country continues to wait for a full-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA, local fans are still enjoying the spectacle in the globe’s biggest basketball league right now.
Not only one, but four Fil-Americans are now in the NBA, making them as a great source of pride – and inspiration.
Among them are Jordan Clarkson, Jalen Green, Dylan Harper, and Jared McCain, whose connections to the Philippines have made them closely followed by Filipino basketball fans.
Not to forget, coaches Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra and Jimmy Alapag. However, the latter parted ways with the Sacramento Kings.
Interestingly, Clarkson, Harper, and McCain along their respective teams are still battling in the NBA’s Final Four, and one of them could potentially become the first player with Filipino blood to win an NBA title as a player.
Spoelstra did it twice – from 2012 to 2013 seasons – but as a head coach of the Heat, who were spearheaded by LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.
JC, the proudest, the oldest and the closest to the Filipinos’ hearts
Clarkson, 33, the oldest of the three, was a playoff veteran that played alongside the late great Kobe Bryant during his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers uniform ahead of his stint to the Cleveland Cavaliers with future Hall of Famer James. He got traded for the second time in his young NBA career.
Clarkson’s adaptability made him a reliable reinforcer for any team he played in, resulting in his Sixth Man of the Year award in 2021. He then joined the Utah Jazz, competing there for almost six years before he agreed for a buyout that followed by his signing with the New York Knicks.
There, the 6-foot-5 sweet-shooting guard played a key role, adjusting to the guard-rich Knicks that were bannered by Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Landry Shamet.
Clarkson, whose roots are from Pampanga, is a national team mainstay and previously helped the Philippines in the country’s hosting of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. His continued effort and cheer made him the closest to Filipino fans – perhaps sitting next to Justin Brownlee – and he already did an unprecedented feat after winning the NBA Cup this season.
As New York edged the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opener of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals series, Clarkson got closer to etching his name in Philippine annals of greats.
Dylan Harper and Jared McCain, young bloods on the rise
Apart from Clarkson, Dylan, the 20-year-old son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper and former collegiate cager Maria, who is from Bataan, could set a new milestone for Philippine basketball as he is currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs.
Harper, the second pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, is making waves alongside versatile Frenchman Victor Wembanyama. He went superb in the opener of the Western Conference Finals, drawing first blood against reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder via a 122-115 escape in a classic double-overtime game.
Aside from brewing rivalry between the Spurs and the Thunder, it also featured a special showdown of two Filipino-Americans Harper and McCain, who disclosed his Filipino roots through his mother’s side.
McCain answered back for the Thunder, anchoring the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led crew to a Game 2 victory, 122-113, to level the series at 1-1.
Both remain young and talented pieces who could become even bigger parts of their respective franchises in the years to come. But if the two rising stars, along with seasoned veteran Jordan Clarkson, manage to survive the grind of the playoffs while the Cavaliers fall out of contention, one of them could make history for their respective teams and for the country as the first Filipino-American player to hoist an NBA championship trophy.
