"Improved out of sight": Next Star set to shine

The NBA Draft stocks of New Zealand Breakers' Karim Lopez have continued to strengthen during his impressive Hungry Jack's NBL26 season.

Through the first 24 games of the campaign, the Mexican NBL Next Star has recorded career-best marks in points (10.6), rebounds (5.6), assists (2), steals (1.2), blocks (1), field goal percentage (49.3), three-point percentage (32.5) and free throw percentage (75).

With the 2026 NBA Draft fast approaching, every performance is crucial for the 18-year-old to achieve his dream.

HoopsFest is no different, with more than 16 different NBA executives and scouts set to be in attendance for the Breakers' matchup with Cairns at RAC Arena on Saturday.

On Saturday's NBL Now, champion Pete Hooley said he was confident that Lopez would rise to the occasion, like he's done all year, and put on a show.

"I know that he's been handling this pressure for the last two years, understanding that he is getting closer to his goal, which is to be an NBA player," Hooley said on Saturday's NBL Now.

"There's going to be a whole lot of NBA eyes [in attendance on Saturday]. They'll continue to want to see what he can do defensively, because I think his offensive game has improved out of sight since he came to the NBL.

"The player that he was when he began to the player he was when he's going to finish up at the end of this season, they're two vastly different players. I give him a whole lot of credit for the way that he's putting in the hard work and has really grown.

"The defensive end is the key and it's hard, because the Breakers aren't a great defensive team themselves, so you can kind of get exposed in that area.

"We spoke to the Detroit Pistons last night on the broadcast and they were talking about what they look at and it's all about that improvement, because these are young kids in the end. You want to see what is he going to be in three, four years' time for an NBA franchise.

"He's got all the tools, so all the scouts are going to have their eyes on."

Hooley continued by saying that the scouts "wouldn't just have eyes for Lopez", with the NBL having so many rising stars.

"The beautiful part about this, [is everyone has a chance to shine]," Hooley said.

"Last night, we saw Ben Henshall put on a show for the NBA scouts, to try and get an opportunity [in the United States].

"[Another is] Sam Mennenga, who is still so young. He experienced the [NBA Summer League] with the Los Angeles Lakers last year [and no doubt wants to get more of a taste].

"For all this reason, everybody wants to come out and play. I know the Taipans and the Breakers, they might not be playing for anything in the regular season, but even the guys who aren't going in the NBA, they're playing for contracts at this point."

Saturday's HoopsFest clash between Cairns and New Zealand tips off at 7pm AEDT, live on ESPN.