Mexican teen prodigy Karim Lopez nears NBA

Karim Lopez was only 14 years old when he left Mexico to begin his trek to the National Basketball Association. Instead of crossing the border into the United States from nearby Hermosillo, Sonora, he moved to Spain by himself.

With his family all in Mexico, Lopez staved off homesickness in Badalona, Spain, by focusing on basketball when he wasn’t making his daily calls to his parents or grandmothers. 

After two seasons with Club Joventut “B” and one campaign with Club Joventut’s senior squad in Spain, Lopez is on the move again. The 17-year-old prodigy is considered a top NBA Draft prospect. One mock draft already predicts he’ll be picked 15th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft just a few months after what will be his 19th birthday.

Karim Lopez, however, is considered more than just the best basketball player to come out of Mexico. Lopez could ultimately be one of the greatest athletes in Mexican history. For now, Lopez is focused on developing with the New Zealand Breakers in his quest to prepare for the 2026 NBA Draft.

Shining with New Zealand Breakers

“I came here because the New Zealand Breakers are just a great club,” he said. “They really believe in me. They really have so much interest in me. So I feel like there’s a big part to my development just having people that really believe in me.

“And, as of today, I’m just trying to help the team win, help the team just pursue its goals and just work every single day and be better.”

The 6-foot-9 wing is the son of Jesus Hiram Lopez, a former Mexican national basketball team star. Karim Lopez has already made his debut for the Mexican national team, wowing fans with thunderous dunks.

The New Zealand Breakers play in Australia’s National Basketball League.  Lopez is part of the NBL’s Next Stars developmental program, which produced four players who were drafted in the 2024 NBA Draft. He is following the path taken by French center Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Josh Giddey and LaMelo Ball also played with the NBL Next Stars.

Although it’s still rare for American players like Ball to make the trek to the NBL to finish their development, it’s not rare for top Mexican sports prodigies to move abroad to chase their athletic dreams. Several top Mexican prospects have moved to European soccer clubs or to Major League Baseball teams as teens.

Karim Lopez a rare Mexican hoops star

Karim Lopez is different because he stars in a sport not traditionally associated with Mexico. Bi-racial Mexican Americans like Mark Aguirre, the first overall pick in the NBA Draft and a three-time NBA champ, and Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker have been legitimate NBA stars.

Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., who finished third in the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year race, is the latest Mexican American to draw raves in the NBA. 

“That’s obviously a great basketball player, as we all know,” Lopez says of Jaquez. “That’s obviously like an inspiration also for every Mexican, every Mexican kid that just wants to pursue his dreams and get to the highest level of competition in basketball. …

“He’s obviously a great player. And I mean, it means a lot to me to have a Mexican (playing at) such a high level in the NBA.”

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Jaquez took the traditional route to the NBA. After a stellar high school career in Southern California, Jaquez enrolled at UCLA. He led UCLA to the Final Four as a sophomore and then was the 2023 Pac-12 Basketball Player of the Year before he was drafted by the Heat.

Lopez has taken a more circuitous route in his quest to reach the NBA. It was a lonely journey in more ways than one. Yet, he has persevered and steadily drawn the attention of NBA scouts. He has sacrificed in a way most American basketball prodigies cannot fathom by leaving his country at 14 years old.

‘Big challenge’

“That was definitely a big challenge for me,” Lopez said of moving to Spain. “Just being away from my family, being away from my country, my friends, the people I’ve known for all my life, but, I’ve always had a dream. 

“I always had a goal. So I understood that was part of the process and part of what would take me to follow that dream and just pursue my dream. So I feel like it was definitely hard. Missing my family, missing my friends. But I feel like I took it and I really understood it was for a reason.”

Lopez finally got a taste of NBA action this month during the Breakers’ three exhibition games against NBA teams. He scored 13 points with seven rebounds over 25 minutes off the bench Friday against the Utah Jazz. He missed the second exhibition because of a minor injury.

When asked to pick a dinner group of his favorite Mexican athletes of all time, Lopez picked the Mexican national soccer team’s all-time leading scorer Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, boxing legend Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, soccer icon Hugo Sanchez, former Dallas Mavericks star Eduardo Najera and Jaquez.  

If he lives up to expectations, the name Karim Lopez will belong perfectly at that dinner table.

“I’m obviously aiming for the 2026 draft,” he says. “I’m obviously now working as hard as I can to just make my dreams come true. And it’s all a process, but I feel like I’m doing good and I’ll be good.”