Bree Purganan: The Filipino Nurse Who Shaped NBA Star Jalen Green

Before Jalen Green was dropping 36-point performances in NBA Play-In games, before Adidas designed Filipino Heritage Night shoes with his name on them, and before an entire country halfway across the world claimed him as their own — there was a nurse in Fresno, California, who taught him to play defense in a driveway after finishing a 12-hour hospital shift. Her name is Bree Mennette Purganan, and she is the reason Jalen Green plays the way he does: relentless, fearless, and proud of where he comes from.

Bree is a Filipino-American licensed vocational nurse, breast cancer advocate, and mother of three who spent more than two decades working in California’s most demanding healthcare settings — from correctional facilities to emergency rooms to mental health wards. She is also the woman who built, from scratch, the mindset that carried her son from a Fresno driveway to the second overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Quick Facts

Early Life and Immigration

Growing Up in Ilocos Sur

Bree Purganan was born in Ilocos Sur, a province on the island of Luzon in the northern Philippines. Her mother, Julia Durbin, worked as a teacher, and her biological father’s identity has never been made public. In 1995, Julia married Bob Durbin, who became Bree’s stepfather during her formative years.

Growing up in a close-knit Filipino household, Bree absorbed the values that would later define her parenting: respect for elders, humility in the face of success, family unity above all else, and an unshakable work ethic. These weren’t abstract ideas in the Purganan household — they were lived daily.

The Move to California

Bree immigrated to the United States as a teenager, settling in California’s Central Valley — a region with a significant Filipino-American community. The transition from the Philippines to Merced, California, required adaptation on every level: a new language, a new culture, and a new set of challenges. But Bree carried her heritage with her rather than leaving it behind, a decision that would profoundly shape how she raised her children decades later.

Family and Siblings

Bree grew up alongside two siblings: a brother named Josh Bass and a sister named Kriste Canon. The family maintained strong ties to Filipino traditions even after relocating to the United States. Bree’s mother and stepfather remained central figures in the family’s life, reinforcing the cultural values that Bree would eventually pass on to Jalen and his siblings.

Education and Athletic Background

Nursing at Merced Community College

Bree enrolled at Merced Community College District, where she pursued an Associate Degree in Nursing. She completed the program in 1999, laying the foundation for a healthcare career that would span more than two decades. The program prepared students for direct patient care, and Bree took to the work immediately — driven by the same discipline and focus she would later demand of her son on the basketball court.

College Athlete

What many people don’t know about Bree Purganan is that she was an athlete long before Jalen ever picked up a basketball. At Merced College, she played college basketball and also participated in soccer and cross-country. Her love for sports was not a casual interest — it was part of her identity. That athletic background gave her a firsthand understanding of competition, discipline, and the mental toughness required to perform under pressure. It also meant that when Jalen showed interest in basketball, Bree wasn’t just a supportive mom watching from the sideline. She understood the game.

Licensed Vocational Nurse Certification

In 2002, Bree completed her Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) certification through Turlock Emanuel. An LVN provides basic nursing care under the supervision of registered nurses and physicians — administering medications, monitoring patients, dressing wounds, and assisting with daily care. This credential opened the door to a wide range of clinical settings, from hospitals to correctional facilities, and became the backbone of Bree’s professional life.

Nursing Career

Correctional and Contract Healthcare (2004–2015)

Between 2004 and 2015, Bree built her clinical experience across multiple demanding environments. She worked for the California Department of Corrections in Chowchilla, serving in roles that included correctional officer and medical technical assistant. She also gained experience with healthcare contractors including Provant, OccuVax, and Corizon Health, broadening her exposure to different patient populations and medical settings.

Correctional healthcare is among the most challenging fields in nursing. Staff manage patients with complex medical histories, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders — all within the security constraints of a prison environment. For a decade, Bree navigated these pressures while raising three children, often as a single mother before her marriage to Marcus Green.

Emergency and Mental Health Nursing (2016–Present)

Since 2016, Bree has served as a Licensed Vocational Nurse in the emergency department at Madera Community Hospital in California. In this role, she provides critical care to patients in crisis — from trauma cases to psychiatric emergencies. She has also expanded her focus to include mental health care nursing, one of the most emotionally demanding specializations in the profession. In her community, she has additionally built a reputation as a businesswoman offering mental health services beyond the hospital setting.

Mental health nursing requires a particular kind of resilience. Nurses in this field work with patients experiencing severe anxiety, depression, psychotic episodes, and suicidal ideation. The emotional toll is significant, and burnout rates are high. Bree has sustained this work for years while simultaneously supporting her son’s rise through the NBA — a balancing act that speaks to the same mental toughness she taught Jalen in that Fresno driveway.

Entrepreneurship and Breast Cancer Advocacy

Beyond her clinical work, Bree founded Bree’s Organisation for Breast Cancer Research, channeling her medical knowledge into community advocacy. Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among Filipino-American women, and Bree’s foundation focuses on awareness, early detection, and fundraising for research. Her advocacy reflects a broader pattern in her life: using professional expertise to serve her community beyond the walls of any hospital.

Shaping an NBA Star

The Driveway Defender

Before Jalen Green had a basketball trainer, before AAU circuits and recruiting camps, he had his mother. Bree was Jalen’s first opponent — literally. She played defense against him in their driveway, refusing to let him score easily, building into him the defensive instinct and competitive fire that would become hallmarks of his professional game.

Jalen has spoken openly about the influence his mother had on his development.

“I got my work ethic from my mom, my mindset from her.”

— Jalen Green

That mindset — relentless, uncompromising, built on daily effort rather than natural talent — traces directly back to a nurse who worked 12-hour shifts and still had the energy to guard her son in the driveway afterward.

Marcus Green: The Stepfather Who Showed Up

Bree’s marriage to Marcus Green brought a crucial additional influence into Jalen’s life. Marcus, a former high school basketball player who once played alongside future NBA player DeShawn Stevenson, recognized Jalen’s potential early. He began driving Jalen to recruitment camps starting in middle school, and by seventh grade, he was already treating the boy as his own son.

When Jalen threw down his first backyard dunk in the eighth grade, Marcus rewarded him with a pair of Jordans — a small gesture that became a defining memory in Jalen’s athletic journey. In a 2018 interview with Bleacher Report, Marcus pushed back against public claims that his stepson lived a flashy lifestyle, insisting that Jalen had worked for everything he had. Marcus later formally adopted Jalen, and the guard carries his stepfather’s surname to this day.

2021 NBA Draft: The Second Overall Pick

On July 29, 2021, Jalen Green was selected second overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2021 NBA Draft, becoming one of the first players drafted directly from the NBA G League Ignite developmental program. The moment marked the culmination of a journey that began in a Fresno driveway and wound through San Joaquin Memorial High School, Prolific Prep in Napa, and the G League — all while Bree worked night shifts in emergency departments and correctional facilities.

At San Joaquin Memorial, Jalen was a phenomenon from his freshman year, averaging 18.1 points and nine rebounds per game as a 14-year-old. By his junior year, he was averaging 30.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, and he broke the school’s career scoring record that had stood since 1971. For his senior year, he transferred to Prolific Prep in Napa, where he averaged 31.5 points per game and was named Sports Illustrated All-American Player of the Year.

Through all of it, Bree was there — not as a basketball mom seeking the spotlight, but as the same disciplined, steady presence she had always been.

Representing the Philippines on the NBA Stage

Jalen Green is one of the most prominent players of Filipino descent in NBA history, and he has embraced that identity fully. “The fact that I’m in the NBA and representing them as a Filipino basketball player, it means a lot,” Green said. “It feels good having a whole country on my back, riding for me.”

That connection to the Philippines was built by Bree. She raised Jalen with a deep awareness of his Filipino heritage, and she made sure he experienced it firsthand. During his high school years at San Joaquin Memorial in Fresno, Jalen made his first trip to the Philippines, visiting Bree’s hometown in Ilocos Sur.

“I’m super proud. The last time I went to the Philippines, we actually had the chance to go back to her hometown, where our family is from, so that was a cool experience. We got to go there, play basketball, meet the families and stuff out there. The kids, play with them a little bit. It was a good experience.”

— Jalen Green

The trip left a lasting impact. “At 15, I was starting to be a well-known basketball player,” Green recalled. “Going out there just kind of built my confidence up a lot.” He has maintained a strong relationship with Filipino fans ever since. “The Philippines has supported me since before the NBA,” he said. “They’ve always showed so much love, and that’s carried on to my NBA career.”

NBA teams have hosted Filipino Heritage Nights in Green’s honor, alongside fellow Filipino-heritage figures like Jordan Clarkson and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. Adidas has designed Filipino-themed shoes for Green to wear during these games. None of this cultural celebration happens without a mother who refused to let her children forget where they came from.

Phoenix Suns and Beyond

After four seasons with the Houston Rockets, Jalen Green was traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he has become a key piece of the roster. In April 2026, Green delivered a dominant 36-point performance in a Play-In Game victory over the Golden State Warriors, shooting 14-of-20 from the field and 8-of-14 from three-point range. He followed that up with a strong first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, including a 26-point outing in Game 3.

Off the court, Green continues to give back to the Central Valley community that raised him. He recently hosted a back-to-school giveaway at the Boys and Girls Club of West Fresno, providing shoes and school supplies to local children — an initiative that reflects the same community-first values his mother instilled in him.

Personal Life

Marriage to Marcus Green

Bree Purganan is married to Marcus Green, an American citizen of African-American heritage. Their marriage brought together two cultures and created a household where Filipino and African-American traditions coexist. Marcus’s hands-on involvement in Jalen’s basketball development — from driving him to camps to mentoring his competitive mindset — made him an essential partner in the family’s journey.

Three Children

Bree is the mother of three children:

• Raquel Purganan — Bree’s eldest daughter, married to Steve Tucker, living in Fresno, California.
• Jalen Green — Born February 9, 2002, in Merced, California. As of 2026, Jalen plays shooting guard for the Phoenix Suns and is one of the most prominent Filipino-heritage athletes in American professional sports.
• Jurnee Tyra — Born in 2011, the youngest of the three. Jurnee shares her brother’s passion for basketball and has been seen at his games and events.

The identity of Jalen’s biological father has not been publicly disclosed. Bree has maintained privacy around her first marriage and early family life, a boundary that has been largely respected by media and fans alike.

Life in California

As of 2026, Bree continues to live and work in California’s Central Valley. She remains active on Facebook, where she occasionally shares family moments, but she does not maintain a public Instagram account — a deliberate choice that sets her apart from many NBA parents who actively court social media attention. Her life remains rooted in the same values she grew up with in the Philippines: family, work, faith, and quiet resilience.

Net Worth and Financial Profile

Bree Purganan’s estimated net worth is between $1 million and $2 million USD. This figure is based on publicly available indicators and should be treated as an approximation rather than a confirmed number.

Conclusion

Bree Purganan is not an NBA player, a celebrity, or a public figure by trade. She is a nurse — a woman who spent more than two decades in some of California’s most demanding healthcare environments, from correctional facilities to emergency rooms to mental health wards. She is also an immigrant who carried her Filipino heritage across the Pacific and planted it firmly in her children’s lives. And she is the mother who, long before any scout or coach saw potential in her son, saw it herself — and guarded him in a driveway until he was ready to face the world.

Jalen Green now plays for the Phoenix Suns, represents the Philippines on basketball’s biggest stage, and has millions of fans across two countries. But the foundation of all of it — the work ethic, the cultural pride, the refusal to back down — was built by a single Filipino nurse in Fresno, California, who simply refused to let her children be anything less than extraordinary.