RON HARPER DEFENDS SON DYLAN AMID GIRLFRIEND ROW

Ron Harper, a five-time NBA championship winner, publicly defended his son, San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, after former NBA player Gilbert Arenas commented on rumours involving Dylan Harper's girlfriend. Arenas made the remarks on the "We Said What We Said" podcast, suggesting that Dylan Harper was aware of issues in the relationship but remained in it. A clip of the comments circulated on social media platform X, prompting Ron Harper to respond directly to Arenas, writing "I can't wait to see you somewhere!!!! Just worry about his basketball game......." The rumours centre on Dylan Harper's girlfriend, JoJo Lacey, who has been accused by another woman of exchanging messages with her boyfriend.

The woman's allegations were posted in an Instagram Story, in which she wrote that the man kept "staying with" Lacey despite the messages. Dylan Harper and Lacey are reported to have started dating around two years ago after meeting at Rutgers University, where both played college basketball. Lacey went undrafted in the 2025 WNBA Draft, before the Washington Mystics signed her to a rookie-scale contract on 14 April, then waived her two weeks later, ahead of the season starting. Dylan Harper was selected as the number two pick in last year's NBA Draft and played for the San Antonio Spurs during the 2025–26 regular season, averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists across 69 games.

In the play-offs, Dylan Harper averaged 18.0 points on 49.3 per cent shooting, along with 6.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists, in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. Messages circulating online allegedly show Lacey inviting another man to San Antonio and discussing a planned trip to Paris. Neither Dylan Harper nor Lacey has issued a public statement responding to the allegations. No further comment from Arenas has been reported since the podcast remarks were published.