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Karim Lopezs emotional response to making NBA draft history as Mexican-born player goes viral The heartwarming response 19-year-old Karim Lopez had when being asked about becoming the first Mexican-born player to be selected in the NBA drafts first round is sparking buzz.
Add The California Post on GoogleMexico has sustained a big fan base for basketball for decades now but never had its own homegrown star to latch on to.
That is, until Lopez, 19, caught attention while playing with theHe and his familys reaction to being selected by the Pistons was one of the best moments from Tuesdays first round.
One moment during his post-draft interview segment with ESPN went viral.When asked what it meant to be the first Mexican-born player to be selected in the first round of an NBA draft, Lopez, who was sitting with his family, had to collect his emotions for a moment before saying, Well, its just super special honestly to be here.
Im blessed.
And, yeah.
I have no words, per an X post from SportsCenter.
He was visibly emotional and wiping away tears while trying to get what little words he had out.
Lopez then showed the inside of his jacket, which included the Mexican flag and several other homages to Mexican culture.
He was then asked why he wanted to include the Mexican flag on his jacket and said, I just wanted to represent my culture, represent where Im from, represent my faith.
And just represent myself, basically.Show the people who I am.
Karim Lopez shows off the inside of his jacket after becoming the first Mexican-born player to be taken in the first round of an NBA draft.
Karim Lopez speaks on how it feels to be the first Mexican-born player ever selected in the first round of the NBA draft Even though Lopez has his entire NBA career ahead of him, hes already seen as a hero by his home country.And while that will create some pressure, it also means LopezKarim Lopez shows off the inside of his jacket after becoming the first Mexican-born player to be taken in the first round of an NBA draft.