ONE OF the most exciting Next Stars in the 2024/25 National Basketball League (NBL) season to date has been Karim Lopez, who has developed at a rapid rate as a member of the New Zealand Breakers so far.

Lopez is the youngest Next Star of the five players in the system this fixture, but has arguably shown the most potential throughout the first seven rounds of the season, making himself an invaluable member of the Breakers lineup.

Although he missed some time with injury, it did not stunt his growth in terms of on-court production and in Round 7 over the weekend, he was tremendous in leading New Zealand to two blowout wins over fellow contenders.

At just 17 years of age and not draft eligible until 2026, Lopez still has plenty of growth to come during his time in the NBL, and the Breakers have found another likely lottery pick in the Next Stars program.

New Zealand’s first match of the round came against the Adelaide 36ers at Spark Arena on Friday night. The Sixers were one of the in-form teams of the NBL coming into the clash, bringing plenty of big names to the table, many of whom had been firing in recent weeks.

However, Adelaide was run off the floor by the Breakers, with the home side jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter and never surrendering the margin, cruising home to a 27-point triumph to send the Sixers home with plenty of disappointment.

Lopez was right in the thick of the action in that match, posting 17 points on 6/9 shooting from the field (2/4 3PT), seven rebounds, two assists and a block. It was the continuation of some eye-catching scoring performances over the past few weeks, and demonstrated his ability to hit the scoreboard at a consistent level.

The Next Star backed it up a couple of days later at John Cain Arena on Monday night, when the Breakers took on Melbourne United, who were on top of the ladder at that stage. It was a second consecutive dominant performance from New Zealand, completely outplaying Melbourne on its home deck and putting the game to bed by halftime en route to a 34-point thumping.

The Breakers’ Next Star was productive once again, this time delivering a double-double and putting his name under lights by announcing his consistency. He posted 17 points, doing an excellent job of drawing contact and getting to the free throw line, nailing 10 of his 13 attempts. Lopez also pulled down 10 rebounds, dished out three assists and swatted three shots.

Lopez is truly putting his skillset to the test against fully developed players this season, and his success in the NBL indicates that it should translate to NBA level in the coming years. His ability to get a feel of the pace of the game and adjust his scoring method accordingly resembles a veteran of the sport, while his production on both ends of the floor will also attract the attention of scouts.

Lopez is looming as yet another success story of the Next Stars program, producing standout performances on a consistent basis and boosting his draft stock steadily with plenty of time in the bank. With the Breakers flying at the moment, the youngster has played a key role in this, and will likely deliver excellent showings in the weeks to come.