IT WAS yet another strong showing from NBL Next Star and NBA Draft prospect Karim Lopez, who was again among the top performers as his New Zealand Breakers defeated the Tasmania JackJumpers over the weekend.

The Next Star has been in excellent form this season, showing why he is considered to be a lottery selection in the 2026 intake in June. On the season, he is averaging 11.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, a steal and a block per game, with all of those areas improved on last year, showing the leap he has made in his sophomore campaign.

New Zealand continued its charge in the second half of the season, proving 13 points too good for the JackJumpers at Spark Arena on Saturday evening, building on a hot start and holding off any challenge from the visitors. The Breakers have emerged as a bit of a dark horse in the race for the championship, and kept those claims well and truly alive.

Continuing to perform at a consistent level, Lopez was one of several Breakers players to make an impact against the JackJumpers, with the youngster hitting the scoreboard against one of the scrappiest defensive sides in the competition.

New Zealand Breakers (99) def. Tasmania JackJumpers (86)

Karim Lopez – 15 points, four rebounds, one steal, one block

Continuing to be one of the most prominent Next Stars in program history, the youngster was impressive again as the Breakers got the job done at home against the JackJumpers, recording their seventh win of the season to move above Tasmania on the ladder and into the top six of the standings.

Lopez opened the scoring for the match with a nice driving layup, again showing his improved confidence on the scoring front. It was an impressive move, taking the opponent off the dribble and into the paint, pivoting with his foot before spinning and nailing the lay-in with his off-hand.

However, his free throw shooting still showed room for improvement, with the young gun missing a pair of shots at the charity stripe. Lopez’s defensive work came to the fore when he stripped the ball from import David Johnson in a play that resulted in a dunk to Rob Baker II.

The Next Star was productive at drawing fouls in the minutes that followed, positioning himself smartly and forcing the opposition to reach too harshly, while his rebounding was excellent as well. Although he committed some turnovers in the final minutes of the quarter, it was still a productive opening term from the draft prospect.

Another strong play came in the second quarter as he caught the rock outside the three-point line, put the ball on the floor and finished past Nick Marshall for the lay-in with his left hand despite some heavy pressure on the shot. Lopez then delivered another defensive showing down the other end, timing his leap to perfection when helping guard the paint and swatting Majok Deng‘s attempted floater to show his athletic prowess.

With the Breakers inbounding the ball a couple of minutes later, the Next Star used his length to catch the ball under the basket with an outstretched arm, and having gained separation from his opponent, nailed the uncontested layup to close out a strong first half.

He was injected back into the game late in the third quarter, and wasted no time getting back involved as a scorer. With no hesitation, Lopez fired the shot from deep behind the arc for his first three-pointer of the game to put New Zealand up by 13 points. The youngster’s off-ball value was shown when he took advantage of Parker Jackson-Cartwright‘s passing prowess, cutting into the lane when the point guard was on the drive and looking to dish, and then subsequently throwing down the two-handed dunk.

With the JackJumpers making a late charge but still falling short, Lopez nailed the final shot of the game in impressive fashion. With the shot clock expiring late in the final minute, he threw up a deep heave from behind the arc which was nothing but net to cap off the win for New Zealand and another strong showing from the team’s young star.

He finished with 15 points on 6/10 shooting from the field to go with four boards, a steal and a block in a strong showing that demonstrated how impressive his traits are. Lopez is getting more confident in his own ability by the game, and could explode for a huge game in the coming weeks.