Lopez's 'patience' paying off as goal nears

On September 17, 2022, Mexican Independence Day, a 15-year-old, Karim López posted a photo of himself on Instagram, wearing a Mexico national team jersey, with the caption “‘Be patient…they’ll know your name’ 🥷🥷.”

Since then, teenage sensation Lopez went on to play professionally with Joventut Badalona in Spain before joining the New Zealand Breakers as part of the NBL Next Stars program.

Now after two seasons of working on his game with the Breakers and being ‘patient’, the now 18-year-old Lopez is ready to fulfil his dream and have people all around the world, including the United States, know his name.

“Just the fact of living on another continent, in another culture [at that age], it made me mature faster. [I had] to adapt to survive basically,” Lopez said in a recent interview with SLAM Magazine.

“Honestly, I always believed I was really good, maybe if I wasn’t really when I was younger.

“I always had that confidence that I was the best. So it was never really a dream. It was more of a goal for me.”

Lopez, who helped the Breakers win the first-ever Ignite Cup Final, was most recently slated inside ESPN’s top 10 picks for the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft.

During his time in the NBL, Lopez made 55 appearances for the Breakers and posted career-high marks this season in points (11.9), rebounds (6.1), assists (1.9), steals (1.2), blocks (1), field goal percentage (49.4) and three-point percentage (32.2).

The NBL26 Finals tip off on Wednesday, March 4, with the Seeding Qualifier between South East Melbourne and Perth at John Cain Arena from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.

Read the full story here >> Karim López Details His Journey from Australia’s NBL to NBA Lottery Hopeful