LIKELY 2026 NBA Draft lottery selection Karim Lopez impressed in front of scouts in the National Basketball League (NBL) on Friday night, steering his New Zealand Breakers to a two-point win over Melbourne United.

Lopez is gunning for the 2026 NBA intake, having impressed during his stint in the Next Stars program, approaching the end of his second and final campaign with the Breakers. The wing has caught the eye with his impressive length, exciting athleticism and improved scoring ability over the past two years and is aiming to be among the top selections in June.

Lopez and his Breakers faced off against United at Spark Arena on Friday night, needing a win to keep their campaign alive in a tight race for sixth spot on the ladder. Melbourne had seemingly returned to its winning ways following a form slump, and entered the matchup as favourites despite being in enemy territory.

The Breakers recorded a vital win in the context of their season, and it was on the back of a star turn from Lopez. The 19-year-old put New Zealand on his back in what was essentially a do-or-die encounter for his team, showing an immense amount of maturity and composure down the stretch to ensure the Breakers got the job done to start their weekend in style.

New Zealand Breakers (97) def. Melbourne United (95)

Karim Lopez – 32 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, two blocks

With his best performance in the NBL, Lopez put his name in lights with a match-winning performance, to show he has an offensive ceiling that will have plenty of appeal to NBA scouts, especially against a side that prides itself on defensive restriction.

There were ominous signs early for the Mexican wing, who knocked down a three-pointer from the corner in the opening minute of the game, getting his eye in early in what was an important play for his confidence. Lopez then showed another side of his offensive game, driving into the paint, and throwing up a floater through contact that was all net, although he could be considered unlucky the foul was not called as well.

Lopez’s float game continued to be a weapon for New Zealand, with the Breakers bigs setting screens to allow the Next Star to get to his right hand and finish from the free throw line. The home side were happy to put the ball in his hands in transition, and they were rewarded as Lopez found Robert Loe with a well-weighted pass in the paint to allow the veteran to score an easy layup in a strong start for New Zealand in the first quarter.

After a break to start the second frame, he returned to the fold to close out the half, and showed his defensive presence with a well-timed block on United forward Kyle Bowen‘s attempted layup. Lopez then put the moves on Melbourne star Chris Goulding when the pair were matched up one-on-one, with the Next Star using his size to back down the United veteran, and nailed the turnaround jumper to show he can score in isolation.

He took that confidence into the second half, with the youngster continuing to seek mismatches, and even showed class to dish out to teammates on the perimeter when the opposition sent double teams his way. Lopez had another impressive one-on-one score in the third quarter, taking Finn Delany off the dribble, using his impressive frame to get to the free throw line, and then nailing the one-legged jumpshot over his opponent.

Lopez closed out the third quarter with a well-timed cut to the basket when Delany’s attention dropped for a split second, catching the defence by surprise to get free under the basket and nail the reverse layup. Despite this, the Breakers still trailed by two points at the final change following an impressive patch of play from the visitors.

Melbourne jumped out to a six-point buffer in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and threatened to run away with the contest. However, Lopez popped up for an extremely timely and difficult make, driving to his left against a small opponent, before nailing another right-handed runner over two defenders to inject some life into New Zealand.

Still, the home side trailed by eight points with four minutes on the clock, before their Next Star showed no fear to pull the trigger on a three-pointer off the dribble after getting the switch onto Jesse Edwards, with his long-range attempt bouncing in to cut into the deficit.

Lopez had a couple of strong defensive plays to give even more energy to close out the game. First, he showed a remarkable leap to swat an attempted floater from Melbourne guard Shea Ili, before cutting off the pass from Milton Doyle to the rolling Fabijan Krslovic, and scoring the ball in transition with a nice layup despite playing four-on-one on the fast break, tying up the match in the process.

He continued to show that aggression in the final minutes of the game, taking on the opposition off the dribble, using on-ball screens to get free and hitting the basket with plenty of pace despite facing an intimidating rim protector in Edwards, showing absolutely no fear with the game on the line in the last few minutes of play.

The Next Star was the only source of scoring for the Breakers in the final minutes of play, putting the hosts in front with 80 seconds on the clock, after the ball swung his way to find the youngster wide open in the corner, and he knocked down the clutch triple to put New Zealand up by three points with a massively clutch play as the home side held on for a vital win.

A personal 14-2 scoring run from Lopez in the final frame was the defining factor in the match, and the youngster dropped 15 of the final 20 points of the match in an astounding individual effort. He finished the match with 32 points on an efficient 11/13 shooting from the field and 9/12 shooting from the charity stripe, in a performance that could seal his selection inside the lottery of the upcoming draft.