Photos from spurs, amaznhq/Instagram
As the NBA spotlight turns toward rising Filipino American star Dylan Harper, so does the curiosity about his roots and his favorite food.
In a fun Instagram reel recently posted by the San Antonio Spurs, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft was asked a simple but telling question: “What’s your favorite Filipino food?”
Harper didn’t even pause. “Chicken adobo!” he answered with a smile, his voice full of enthusiasm.
But for Harper, not just any adobo will do – it has to be the one made by his grandmother. “I think the sauce is different. You can’t really replicate it,” he shared. “I only eat my grandma’s one, but yeah, definitely that.”
The NBA rookie, whose Filipino heritage comes from his mom Maria Harper, is clearly proud of his background and it seems food plays a big part in that connection.
Dylan Harper honors his mom, Maria Harper (2nd from left). Screencap/NBA/YouTube
In another video, Maria Harper opened up about the family’s dining table dynamics, revealing just how adventurous she is with Filipino cuisine.
View this post on Instagram
“I’m an entire array of Filipino food, I could eat it every day if I would,” she said.
Among her favorites are kare-kare, sinigang, crispy pata, lumpia and various types of pancit. “Not so good sometimes for the cholesterol and the high blood pressure,” she added with a laugh.
One dish, however, caused a divide at home: dinuguan.
“Yes, we don’t have it all that much, but it’s definitely a family favorite,” Maria said. “Not so good for my kids – as soon as they figured out what lola was putting in it, they’re like absolutely not. I am not doing that, Mom. So I had to honor that.”
Still, Dylan and his siblings know what they like. “Their favorites? Adobo. And lola’s adobo tops everybody – including mine,” she admitted.
Maria also touched on how noodles are always a celebration in their household. “Very celebratory for all of us Asians,” she said.
