NBA Draft 2026: NBL Next Star Karim Lopez selected with 21st pick, Bucks snag Malique Lewis

Lewis’ patient path to the world’s best basketball league has paid off and it came via the very last name called in Thursday’s second round of the draft. The Phoenix defensive dynamo was selected with the 60th pick in the draft by the Bucks via the Washington Wizards. The NBA call-up is a justified reward for Lewis’ hard work to hone his skills via stints in Spain, Mexico and two seasons in the NBL with the Phoenix.

13 NBL Next Stars have now been selected in the NBA draft – including eight across the past three drafts. Liam Santamaria – the General Manager of recruitment for the NBL Next Stars program – believes Lewis is destined for success in the NBA.

“I am so happy for Malique as he has taken the road less travelled to get to this point, and it hasn’t always been easy — but that journey has shaped him into the fine young man and terrific player he is today,” Santamaria said. “His work ethic is exceptional, his heart is enormous, and he deserves every bit of this moment.

“I want to give enormous credit to Josh King and the South East Melbourne Phoenix as well — they have been outstanding in their support and development of Malique and today is also partly a reflection of their quality as a ball club.

“The exact nature of the opportunity that exists for Malique with Milwaukee will become clearer in the days and weeks ahead, but for now, we’re just super proud of all that he has achieved to become an NBA Draft pick.”

Lewis worked out for six NBA teams in the lead up to the draft, including the LA Lakers on Tuesday, and has been ranked in most mocks just outside the top 60. In another win for Australian basketball - Max Mackinnon has agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Charlotte Hornets. The 6’6 Australian guard and son of NBL legend Sam Mackinnon averaged 15.7 points, 2.6 rounds and 2.5 assists as a senior at LSU.

‘Blessed’: NBL Next Star makes first round history at NBA draft

- Michael Randall

When NBL Next Stars guru Liam Santamaria saw a 16-year-old Karim Lopez torch the three young men who would become the top-three picks in the 2026 NBA draft, he knew he was looking at someone special.

Lopez, the 21st pick in Wednesday’s first round after two seasons as a Next Star with New Zealand Breakers, was representing his home country Mexico in the 2023 FIBA U16 AmeriCup.

The historic city of Merida, Mexico was a world away from the bright lights of New York, where the 19-year-old heard his name called by the Detroit Pistons, and, not long after, learnt he was traded to Memphis.

Facing off with AJ Dybantsa (pick No.1, Washington), Darryn Peterson (pick No.2, Utah) and Cam Boozer (pick No.3, Memphis), during that event, Lopez was undaunted.

“Karim, who ultimately led that tournament in scoring (20.5), was the one guy from Mexico who could hang with that American group,” Santamaria recalled to Code Sports after learning Lopez had become the seventh NBL Next Star in the past seven years to be selected in the first round.

“It was around that time that we first expressed interest in Karim to his agents. We then scouted him while he was playing in Spain and engaged a trusted scout to provide his opinion during a youth tournament held just outside Barcelona.

“I remember the scout’s late-night texts during the first day of that tournament, talking about how special he thought Karim was and how he could see him succeeding through the Next Stars pathway — even as a younger prospect across a two-year journey.”

From there, Lopez - whose agents were already familiar with Santamaria and the NBL, having represented former Next Stars Ousmane Dieng (NZ) and Bobi Klintman (Cairns) - had a big decision to make.

There was no shortage of interest in the athletic 206cm wing-forward, with Brisbane and Perth first responders and the New Zealand entering the fray after watching his performance at a 2024 Adidas youth tournament in Paris.

While the prospect of playing in Mexico City with the Capitanes in the G League had the potential to foil the NBL, Santamaria, the Breakers and Lopez’s people brought it all together in person at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

In something of a full circle moment, Lopez will be a teammate of Boozer’s on a rebuilding Memphis squad, where Santamaria believes he will be given ample opportunity to play and develop behind the likes of Boozer, Zach Edey and Cedric Coward.

“I know how the Grizzlies like to play and it’s a pretty similar style to what I played last year with the Breakers in New Zealand, so, I feel like I’m ready to contribute right away,” Lopez told Grizzlies media.

“Obviously, I’ve got to go out there and put in the work, but I feel confident that I’m ready for it.

“I’m just super happy and blessed and let’s get to work.”

Santamaria said Lopez “couldn’t have scripted a better landing spot”.

“We’re really happy for Karim. Memphis has one of the NBA’s best track records in the draft over the past five or six years, so the fact that they identified Karim and moved to trade for him says a lot,” Santamaria said.

Breakers basketball boss Dillon Boucher, in New York supporting Lopez at the draft, said his young charge was relaxed in the build up, confident he’d done the work to impress an NBA team.

“It’s great to have one of our Next Stars players drafted,” Boucher said.

“It means a lot that we’ve helped develop a player to the level to get to the NBA.

“He’s a good, humble kid with a bright future.

“We loved having Karim and his family at the club. They’ll be Breakers for life.”

Across two seasons and 55 NBL games, Lopez averaged 10.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 block, showing marked improvement, year-on-year, but improving in almost every major statistical category.

Lopez is the 12th NBL Next Star to be drafted and the first out of Mexico to be selected in the first round. He’s the fourth Breaker after RJ Hampton (No.24, 2020), Ousmane Dieng (2022) and Rayan Rupert (No.43, 2023).