Karim López: I have prepared my entire life for this moment

The 18-year-old forward confirmed exclusively for AM850 his participation in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Karim LopezMexican basketball player, confirmed exclusively for AM850 his participation in the Draft 2026 of the NBA. The 18-year-old forward was recently champion in the Ignite Cup in Australia with BNZ Breakers and is now reported ready to be in the showcase under the gaze of the 30 organizations that make up the league.

“Well, the season was nice, it was nice to be able to enjoy professional basketball, enjoy my teammates, enjoy everything, the coaches, simply the experience, living it, and it was very nice, something that taught me a lot, and I think it was something that prepared me very well for this next path, which, I come to announce that after speaking with my family, with my agents, with my close circle, I have decided that I am going to declare for the 2026 draft“he explained Karim Lopez in interview for SportsCenter.

“The timing is perfect. I think I’ve been preparing my whole life for this moment, to be able to get here, and it just feels right and I have to do it.”

Karim Lopezoriginally from Hermosillo, Sonora, is considered the best Mexican basketball prospect, but he is also among the main talents of his class internationally, a label he sealed after his participation in the Ignite Cup in Australia with BNZ Breakers.

The Mexican, who will turn 19 on April 12, was key for BNZ Breakers to win the Australian Ignite Cup title, since only in the final, Karim Lopez He contributed 12 points, eight rebounds, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Karim Lopez2.06 meters tall, is shaping up to become a new representative of Mexico on the courts of the NBAa league in which Horacio Llamas, Eduardo Nájera, Gustavo Ayón, Jorge Gutiérrez, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Jaime Jáquez Jr. have previously participated, the latter still in the ranks of the Miami Heat.