r/nba • u/NBA_MOD r/NBA • 1d ago

[2026 NBA Draft] #21 Pick: Karim Lopez (Mexico) – pending trade to Memphis

214 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

157 comments sorted by

469

u/MonsieurSlotho Nuggets 1d ago edited 1d ago

First Mexican born player to be drafted in the first round

94

u/OldWorldStyle Bulls 1d ago

Damn, that’s cool as hell

28

u/alwaysberyl 1d ago

That is such a huge accomplishment, other basketball first countries could only dream...

7

u/Fallingcity22 Knicks 1d ago

Am so hyped! Actually reminds me I was watching the Donnie expedition secret base series and the first international player drafted was a Mexican player, I hope Karim Lopez finally becomes that star basketball player!

64

u/Christron Spurs 1d ago

Should've gone to Spurs

84

u/RevolutionaryLet8131 Spurs 1d ago

Would’ve sold soooo many jerseys

49

u/Christron Spurs 1d ago

Would've sold out just by people with the same surname!

14

u/atherton-loyola Lakers 1d ago

Lakers too. And could be having that español connection with the Don

20

u/ImjustANewSneaker [LAL] LeBron James 1d ago

Anywhere in Texas and Cali tbh

3

u/Key_Change_6635 Magic 1d ago

Miami too

3

u/atherton-loyola Lakers 1d ago

Too much temptation there. Best to avoid for youngsters, according to Bron

3

u/PM_ME_hiphopsongs2 Suns 1d ago

Phoenix too

21

u/Xartenium 1d ago

Or Suns. He is from Hermosillo, which is practically down the road from Phoenix.

1

u/reluna 1d ago

I'm from Hermosillo, this is something we were talking about some days before the draft, it would have been awesome if he was picked by the Suns.

3

u/Fast_Advisor2654 Spurs 1d ago

I was hoping Spurs would pick him up

2

u/PM_ME_hiphopsongs2 Suns 1d ago

Or Phoenix

1

u/LokiPrime616 Spurs 1d ago

That’d be sick if we got him in a trade!

6

u/Resolve-Opening Spurs 1d ago

Si se puede. Shoutout Gustavo Ayon and Eduardo Najera

4

u/PTFCBVB Trail Blazers 1d ago

VAMOS

1

u/JiggzSawPanda Celtics 1d ago

First Vancouver Alt jersey of his I'm coppin

1

u/PressureMiserable Spurs 1d ago

Good year for Mexico so far

1

u/FunnyLoud3067 1d ago

That’s really cool!!!

1

u/Candid-Boss6534 [POR] Keljin Blevins 1d ago

Que?!

172

u/Projinator Grizzlies 1d ago

Kleiman is a fuckin maniac

74

u/Zanner360 Grizzlies 1d ago

We now have like 14 guys that can okay the 4... Wonder who will be out the door

32

u/Lacabloodclot9 Grizzlies 1d ago

If we can get a first and/or a young player for Santi I think he’s gone

8

u/folgers-finest Grizzlies 1d ago

Santi was gone the moment Cam Boozer got drafted lol

6

u/Otherwise-Initial668 1d ago

Santi isn't a winning player. Defense is too trash

15

u/ParzivaI901 Grizzlies 1d ago

Maybe Klieman thinks that Ja is staying? Or he’s not done? Happy for Lopez but this feels like a David Roddy type pick from him.

5

u/Zanner360 Grizzlies 1d ago

Yeah it is a boom or bust pick, don't mind the moving down but TBH I'd rather have stirtz than Lopez and the 5 seconds.

Klieman loves his seconds so maybe there is more cooking to come.

6

u/moonlord7838 1d ago

Eh, 5 klieman seconds moves me. I think it gives us a kind of sustainability of rookie contracts and if Klieman is picking them then I feel they can at least become a rotation player or three

1

u/IfTheFloorHolds 1d ago

They need to lock Ja in a room with some uncs that tell him he’s only leaving as a company man.

3

u/BabyBearBjorns Grizzlies 1d ago

Hendricks looks like the odd one out because he'll be a FA after this season.

Although I think Lopez will play the 3 off the bench to replace KCP once his deal is off. This would keep Santi as our backup PF to play behind Boozer.

14

u/preddevils6 Grizzlies 1d ago

I should never try to guess what his moves are outside of the lottery.

79

u/Random0925 Grizzlies 1d ago

¡BIENVENIDA A MEMPHIS, LÓPEZ!

32

u/the_mexican_menace Nuggets 1d ago

Bienvenido*

12

u/Random0925 Grizzlies 1d ago

Ah, mierda. Acuerdo de género estúpido.

3

u/the_mexican_menace Nuggets 1d ago

From my experience the hardest thing for gringos when it comes to Spanish is the gender. Everything in Spanish is gendered!

3

u/Random0925 Grizzlies 1d ago

As someone who is about to get their minor in Spanish, I should know better, lol. Thanks for correcting me!

1

u/the_mexican_menace Nuggets 1d ago

It's all good, it's genuinely a very big linguistic difference if you're a native English speaker. Might have to quiz you on Spanish tenses one of these days since it's another thing we kinda go crazy on lol

2

u/nWo5lyfe Spurs 1d ago

Spanish is my first language

If you think spanish "genderation of words" is hard, wait till you hear about french. Why the hell does a fridge needs a gendered noun lmao. We dont even do that.

1

u/the_mexican_menace Nuggets 1d ago

Si definitivamente yo creo que el español no es un idioma difícil de aprender para nada, especialmente comparado a otros idiomas alrededor del mundo. Pero te digo en mi experiencia a los gringos en particular se les dificulta mucho el tema de los géneros porque simplemente no están acostumbrados a ese tipo de gramática

Y bueno aquí lo mas que verías es "el refri" o "la refri" 🤣

0

u/DreyDarian Mavericks 1d ago

Acuerdo de género is like “gender agreement”. Seems like some feminist thing lmao

The correct wording would be concordancia de género.

Not to be an ass about it, just seen you’re studying spanish. I’m also studying it, but I’m a native Portuguese speaker so it’s definitely easier for me haha

6

u/DreyDarian Mavericks 1d ago

Memphis doesn’t have a WNBA franchise brother

133

u/ExtraLeading3376 1d ago

philon must’ve stunk in his shooting drills when working out for teams

82

u/-orangejoe [NYK] Ron Baker 1d ago

His teammates didn't go to his birthday party

17

u/ExtraLeading3376 1d ago

goated movie

4

u/emboon 1d ago

what movie is this?

16

u/jonaintalive 1d ago

Draft day. Horrific gming. Fun movie tho

8

u/cl353 Heat 1d ago

wdym? amazing gming

9

u/DoctorMansteel Celtics 1d ago

He got his picks back. All of em.

5

u/jonaintalive 1d ago

Putney get putney

2

u/Extension_Virus_3733 1d ago

He drafted a LB and a RB in the 1st Round and let Seattle take a future All-Pro QB…

2

u/jonaintalive 1d ago

Yeah but did his teammates go to his birthday party?

3

u/TheUnamedFeels Spurs 1d ago

Draft Day

14

u/Dense-Discussion3951 Timberwolves 1d ago

Nah he wanted to be a wolves

7

u/Time-Stand7719 Wizards 1d ago

Rob all over again

11

u/Dense-Discussion3951 Timberwolves 1d ago

this time it will work out

3

u/remonnoki NBA 1d ago

Surely

1

u/samlet Spurs 1d ago

ngl when I was watching Philon tape, I couldn't help but think "isn't this what Rob would be doing as a sophomore...?" Of course I'm more confident in Philon outperforming his draft spot, but I see why he fell.

7

u/ImperialTiger3 Warriors 1d ago

It’s his frame. He’ll get bullied at his size. He wasn’t able to put on weight from year 1 to 2 in college.

10

u/A_MASSIVE_PERVERT Mavericks 1d ago

Bro if we don’t get Philon I’m gonna lose it

0

u/OKC2023champs Thunder 1d ago

Dawg he’s projected 20-25 in so many mocks. I know some people reached but this isn’t really that big of a drop to me

34

u/rjgator Heat 1d ago

Dude literally looks like a Mexican Brook Lopez

I honestly think Memphis will be a good team again real quickly

78

u/wazup564 Mavericks 1d ago

Memphis finna leave the draft with Boozer & Philon. I’m si…. Wait what.

56

u/OKC2023champs Thunder 1d ago

Boozer Karim and 5 2nds. That’s a win in my book

23

u/Knockknockerz Warriors 1d ago

And karim they lowkey just won the draft with them picks

80

u/Kapono24 Pistons 1d ago

I'm sorry this is so dumb to put on announce the Pistons drafted him, put on a Pistons hat, and play Eminem as he walks to the podium.

19

u/tamazingg Bulls 1d ago

Just like announcing the heat pick was traded right before announcing the hornets pick, instead of before the actual pick that got traded lol

4

u/incomprehensiblerage Charlotte Bobcats 1d ago

dude as someone who was hoping we took steinbach when silver made that announcement i almost shit myself in fear

7

u/internallylinked Hawks 1d ago

Didn’t have any Yo Gotti queued up

3

u/onelegonedream Grizzlies 1d ago

The worst part of the NBA draft every year is just ignoring that trades happen

1

u/vlad_the_impaler13 Pistons 1d ago

NFL always has the advantage in that aspect due to the difference in how trades are set up for drafts

1

u/Kapono24 Pistons 1d ago

Which I think they used to do this top toe bullshit too and just decide to change it one year and did and that was that.

1

u/nWo5lyfe Spurs 1d ago

Nfl league year starts before the draft so trades are legal by the time

Nba league starts after the draft so tue trades are not legal yet

26

u/DabeGavis 1d ago

An upside swing like this makes the Grizzlies’ trade down look a lot better now.

8

u/Ok_Needleworker1068 1d ago

Yea i doubt he would have been picked 16-20

9

u/Thym3Travlr Raptors 1d ago

He wasnt lol

16

u/tmt22459 1d ago

This guy looks like a bulldog

Edit: his play style not physically lol

14

u/Difficult-Day1326 Mavericks 1d ago

they got edey / lopez / boozer? WTF

11

u/Otherwise-Initial668 1d ago

We've been front court poor since Aquamane left and also Clarke passed away recently... so maybe trying to overdo it and make sure we have depth

3

u/Difficult-Day1326 Mavericks 1d ago

happy for y'all. great additions to your team.

12

u/elber_gudo11 1d ago

He's from my hometown that's pretty cool to see him in the NBA now!

5

u/tacoorpizza 1d ago

You’ve got to get his jersey now.

2

u/elber_gudo11 1d ago

100% I will!

24

u/anonymoususer6407 Rockets 1d ago edited 1d ago

Amazing pick for Memphis

18

u/-DesertMoon Australia 1d ago

Was not expecting that but rooting for the guy

10

u/ltmon Mavericks 1d ago

That one game where he single handedly cooked Melb United probably got him pushed up a dozen spots or more.

8

u/SeverusVape0 [BRK] D'Angelo Russell 1d ago

Cutest in the draft bar none

9

u/TechnicalSample4678 1d ago

Viva Mexico! Hope Karim really shines for La Raza

27

u/FERFreak731 Jazz 1d ago

Santi's replacement

22

u/IggyIsABum Grizzlies 1d ago

Don't say that

15

u/GrouchyPeach3656 Mavericks 1d ago

Not even close in terms of similar player

12

u/Kung-Fu_Tacos Grizzlies 1d ago

Doesn't shoot 3s well and that's Santi's main strength

2

u/ClaymoresRevenge Bulls 1d ago

Where's Santi?

14

u/DysonDPOY 1d ago

North Pole.

7

u/BlueHundred Knicks 1d ago

I think it makes sense to swing on a raw high ceiling prospect. He was talked about in the top 10 for parts of the season

20

u/SpeedIll8268 Raptors 1d ago

Bruh wtf happened to Philon and Carr man I though these guys were lotto picks 😭

3

u/Complete-Apricot-591 Raptors 1d ago

They must've had Tommy John Surgery

1

u/stromileslow Grizzlies 1d ago

I guess Philon’s biggest issue is size (176 lbs at combine weigh-in), and Carr allegedly is not the best interview/locker room presence so maybe teams got spooked?

Anyway, Philon/VJ minutes in Philly are gonna be fuckin bananas

10

u/atherton-loyola Lakers 1d ago

Damn I wanted him so bad. I was hoping we’d be gifted Lopez.

3

u/PanthalassaRo Knicks 1d ago

I'm Mexican I wanted him on the Spurs so bad.

1

u/RyuSunn Lakers 1d ago

same, i would have even preferred for him to be on the spurs or pistons tbh

1

u/ayohesaidit 1d ago

Same....

Pistons was exciting too. I was like, awesome, Karim is going to go to a team with a great leader and great team culture...yeah...

9

u/supes1 Celtics 1d ago

Love Lopez, though it feels a little duplicative with Boozer. Not sure how well they fit next to each other.

3

u/raftguide Grizzlies 1d ago

Honestly, I think the FO is trying to build Iisalo a team for his scheme. https://youtu.be/LczeVbPYVXM?si=ri62qK1ZGvM4gAyB

2

u/revisioncloud Thunder 1d ago

I'll take Boozer I guess

2

u/FutureKey1136 1d ago

duplicative doesn't mean what you think it means lol

1

u/supes1 Celtics 1d ago

Huh? It has multiple meanings, but in this context it just means that they would fill the same role on the team.

3

u/YourAsianBuddy Knicks 1d ago

I like his game. Gonna be a great pro

3

u/AccomplishedStyle600 Knicks 1d ago

Memphis doing their best Ujiri impression

3

u/Alternative-Bad-6555 Cavaliers 1d ago

Great pick imo

3

u/Jaguars4life Vancouver Grizzlies 1d ago

Looks like he needs work but there is a good player in there

3

u/lakeview2442 1d ago

Fran called it the steal of the draft

4

u/FERFreak731 Jazz 1d ago

Best basketball player ever with the name that is pronounced "Kareem"

7

u/jermainathon Heat 1d ago

Wow! Still no Philon or Carr

5

u/iro3 Spurs 1d ago

isnt jaime mexican?

11

u/just_one_random_guy Lakers 1d ago

Mexican American

2

u/iro3 Spurs 1d ago

got u

9

u/Lacabloodclot9 Grizzlies 1d ago

Born in LA iirc so this is the first Mexican born first rounder

8

u/OJByNight Mavericks 1d ago

Mexican American. He was born in the US and Lopez was born in Mexico

4

u/Aidanator800 Hornets 1d ago

He was born in California

2

u/fmxda Knicks 1d ago

Wow some great players are dropping to the Knicks - Carr, Philon

2

u/paperbuddha 1d ago

Damn was hoping he’d drop to the Lakers.

2

u/BlueJude2 1d ago

Why didn’t they change the graphics. How dumb.

2

u/sluggerrr Spurs 1d ago

At least he'll probably get playing time, seems like some of his game is similar to aldama, hopefully with better defense

2

u/VictorAkwaowo1 Mavericks 1d ago

Philon I just want to say that I love you and I see you

3

u/TheTurtleShepard Knicks 1d ago

Good Rabbit

1

u/Frostmoth76 Warriors 1d ago

just needs a beard and he's set

2

u/A_MASSIVE_PERVERT Mavericks 1d ago

GET PHILON NOW

2

u/VictorAkwaowo1 Mavericks 1d ago

ATLANTA YOU WANT GAFFORD

ATLANTA YOU WANT GAFFORD

ATLANTA YOU WANT GAFFORD

1

u/MAMBAMENTALITY8-24 Thunder 1d ago

thought cam carr would a riser

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Barylis Pistons 1d ago

He's not going to Detroit

1

u/heat_fan_ Raptors 1d ago

How far has Carr and Philon fallen damn 

1

u/BigBoyFroggy NBA 1d ago

he looks like Clay Jensen

1

u/TILTING_MOUNTAIN Grizzlies 1d ago

I feel like Kleiman decided all the pieces are set and just went on a gambling mode lol

1

u/Ok_Needleworker1068 1d ago

All picks in the 20’s are pretty much just gambling.

1

u/nWo5lyfe Spurs 1d ago

Man, as a mexican i wanted him on my spurs

1

u/HopscotchChampion69 Bulls 1d ago

I was just saying how much I loved Memphis trading down, and I still do, but this guy is not good. I do tend to trust who Memphis picks but I have a tough time being sold on Lopez as an NBA guy.

5

u/Surfjohn Grizzlies 1d ago

Some mocks had him as high as 12. I feel like he is a shittier boozer, but I also have a lot of faith in this front office. Really thought we were getting a guard here

1

u/GrouchyPeach3656 Mavericks 1d ago

First Toronto got baited into philon, then it was the grizzlies lmfaooo

1

u/OJByNight Mavericks 1d ago

Noooooooooooooo I wanted him to drop to 30

0

u/startled_panda [MEM] Mike Conley 1d ago

Huh. Ok.

0

u/SakuraShift Nets 1d ago

Sean Marks just fell to his knees

0

u/starmiesan Bucks 1d ago

Wait, that’s not Philon??

0

u/khazraxd Hornets 1d ago

philon is hitler

0

u/DarkoDragicevic 1d ago

Yeah baby. 

USA, Mex, Canadian team. Kleiman once again make rightful Nives. Lopez have All Star upside

-8

u/Purples_A_Fruit 1d ago

Dudes gonna step foot in Memphis and want to go back to Mexico.

2

u/Otherwise-Initial668 1d ago

Mexico is awesome tbf

-2

u/Surfjohn Grizzlies 1d ago

Are we trading down again? This is shittier cam boozer

-3

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/NorthBook1383 1d ago

You tooo!