As the NBA Draft is here, Karim Lopez remains one of the most elite prospects to watch. Meanwhile, his surname has led some fans to speculate whether he is related to former NBA first-round picks and twin brothers Brook and Robin Lopez.
What Is Karim Lopez’s Relationship to Brook and Robin Lopez?
Karim is not related to Brook and Robin. The last name similarity between the 2026 NBA Draft prospect and the veteran NBA twins is just a coincidence.
Brook and Robin were born in North Hollywood, California, USA, and their parents are Heriberto Lopez and Deborah Ledford.
The twins grew up in California and Washington before playing college basketball at Stanford University. Their older brother, Alex Lopez, also competed at the collegiate level at Washington and Santa Clara.
Meanwhile, Karim was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, and his father, Jesús Hiram López, is an elite figure in Mexican basketball. Karim’s basketball roots run through Latin America, as his father played college basketball in the United States before starting a more than one-decade professional career in Mexico and representing the Mexican Senior National Team.
While there is no familial relationship, Karim is charting a historic path of his own that rivals the caliber of the Lopez twins’ careers. Karim is one of the most divisive players in the draft, with analysts divided on whether he truly projects as a lottery-level talent.
Karim’s professional journey has taken him to Spain with Joventut Badalona, followed by two promising seasons with the New Zealand Breakers. In the 2025-26 Hungry Jack’s NBL season, he averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.
Karim is now seen as a potential history-maker, with the chance to become the first Mexico-born player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. He could also become the seventh NBL Next Star in the last seven years to go in the first round, following players like LaMelo Ball (2020), Josh Giddey (2021), and Alex Sarr (2024).
In a recent interview with NBA Today, Karim credited those players for influencing his decision to join the program.
“They, honestly, are a big part of the reason why I went there [to the NBL], and it’s a big part of the reason why players keep going there, because it’s a great program,” Lopez said. “It’s producing talent, as you’re literally playing against grown men.
“It makes you adapt and be a sponge, trying to learn as much as you can from those guys. It’s been a great preparation for me [ahead of the Draft].”
In the latest mock drafts, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo projects Karim to be selected at No. 14 by the Charlotte Hornets.
