Meet Karim López: Mexico’s potential first NBA star

Born in Hermosillo, Mexico, Karim López is a professional basketball player and is poised to become the face of Mexican basketball in the NBA.

The 18-year-old is a 6-foot-8 forward currently playing for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). López is projected to be the first Mexican-born basketball player to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft if he declares for the draft at the end of the season.

López was born into a basketball household. His father, Jesús Hiram López, was a star Mexican basketball center and played for a Division II school, Southwest Baptist University, before playing professionally in Mexico from 2011 to 2018. His father was also selected to play for several Mexican national teams, including the 2009 national team that defeated Belize in the COCABA Championship.

In addition to his father, López has expressed through various interviews that his favorite player is LeBron James, hoping to share the court with him one day.

López began dunking at 13-years-old. It was at this same time that he started gaining notoriety among Mexican scouts. At 14, he was offered the opportunity to play professionally in Spain for Joventut Badalona, a basketball club that has produced former NBA players Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernández.

López didn’t start for the senior team right away; instead, spending two seasons with Joventut’s youth team, winning two titles and developing and maturing as a player in the process. He made his official debut in Joventut’s top flight during the 2023/24 season and received an offer with the New Zealand Breakers at the end of the year, joining the NBL’s Next Stars Program.

López has also followed in his father’s footsteps in playing for the Mexican national team. He began playing for Mexico’s youth national teams in 2022, before debuting with the senior team in 2024.

Senior NBA writer Marc J. Spears published a piece on López during his first NBL season. In this, Spears covers how López feels in regards to representing his country at a young age.

“‘It’s definitely a blessing for me to represent Mexico,’ Lopez said. ‘I take that with much pride. Everywhere I go, people are like, ‘That’s the Mexican kid, right?’ I just try to carry the flag with me. When I step on the court playing for Mexico, that’s definitely a different feeling. You play with a different type of pride. If you’re representing your country, it’s definitely great.’”

Going into his second NBL season, López has been on a minute restriction, following a recent bout of sickness and injury that kept him from playing in the preseason. In the nine games played so far in the 2025/26 NBL season, he has averaged 10 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 47.8% field goal efficiency

“As a young guy, 18-year-old, there are obviously some work to do, but he’s improving, he’s trying to learn, and I’m just happy to work with a guy like him,” said Head Coach Petteri Koponen when asked about López’s overall development and health, at a press conference following the Breakers’ Round 5 loss to Melbourne United.

By the time of the 2026 NBA Draft next summer, López will be 19 with two years of pro-basketball experience.

“Karim Lopez combines size, coordination, skill, and basketball instincts at a high level. His toughness, motor, and two-way versatility make him the kind of player NBA teams covet, and his smooth offensive game continues to expand,” said NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock in a scouting report conducted on López.

Additionally, López has shown signs of becoming a steady three-point shooter, as he has knocked down 12 of 27 (44%) shots taken so far this NBL season, which may turn the heads of many NBA teams looking for versatility at the forward position.

If Lopez were to be drafted, he’d join the likes of Horacio Llamas and Eduardo Nájera. Llamas was the first Mexican-born player to make it to the NBA, as he went undrafted in 1996, but was later picked up by the Phoenix Suns, appearing in 28 games across his two seasons in the NBA. Nájera was the first Mexican-born player to be drafted into the NBA, selected 38th overall in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. López could follow in these trail-blazing footsteps, as he is currently projected by ESPN to become the first Mexican-born player to go in the first round. And despite the draft being months away, a few early mock drafts have Karim going in the “lottery,” or within the first 14 picks.

The Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the only NBA talent currently with Mexican heritage. With there only being six Mexican nationals throughout the history of the NBA, Mexico is a country that has longed for more representation in the top basketball leagues.

Lopez is the closest they have had to producing a bona fide NBA standout. While this feat may be intimidating for an 18-year-old, he seems more than ready to compete at the highest level and make history in the process.