Carmelo Anthony, Kenny Smith, future NBA star Karim Lopez headline 'Inside the NBL' All-Star event
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The NBL is a men’s professional basketball league comprised of nine teams in Australia and one in New Zealand. It started in 1979, and the season runs from October to February, with each team playing 28 games. The NBL has been gaining notoriety in North America thanks to some young players who go there to play before their NBA Draft years.
Karim Lopez is one of those players for the upcoming 2026 draft, and he joined Kenny Smith and Carmelo Anthony for a special “Inside the NBL” event at the recent All-Star festivities.
The NBL Next Stars program is a player development program unique to the NBL. It has been running since the 2018-19 season and is proving itself as a pathway to the NBA. It allows each player chosen for the program to play professional basketball before they are eligible for the NBA Draft. The program gives them access to elite coaches and exposure to NBA scouts for the draft. It also gives the young players a place to live when they are away from home and focuses on having them in top shape and available when it’s time for draft workouts in North America.
The program currently has five players: Karim Lopez from the New Zealand Breakers, Alex Toohey from the Sydney Kings, Rocco Zikarsky from the Brisbane Bullets, Izan Almansa from the Perth Wildcats, and Malique Lewis from the South East Melbourne Phoenix. Lopez is in the 2026 class, while the other four will be in the 2025 draft. Toohey is the highest-ranked projection at No. 32.
The NBL also had four players selected in the 2024 NBA Draft. The most notable pick was Alex Sarr, who went second overall.
Meet the panelists for “Inside the NBL” event
The first panelist for the All-Star event was Kenny Smith, who is no stranger to “Inside the …” panel gigs. Of course, Kenny the Jet is one of the beloved panelists on the “Inside the NBA” show, but his role in the NBL is as the Head of Next Stars Players in North America. Smith will also be a part-owner of a future expansion team.
"Legitimate pathways to the NBA are evolving, and the NBL has a proven track record of getting players drafted," Smith said via the Associated Press. "The NBL identified a key role for me to mentor and support young talent and equip them with the tools to compete at a professional level to make the leap into the NBA."
The second panelist was Carmelo Anthony, an NBA legend and fellow part-owner of a future NBL expansion club. He is also a Global Ambassador for the Next Stars Program. Anthony’s role is to attract and mentor top-tier players worldwide and elevate the program.
“In joining the NBL, I'm excited for the opportunity to not just elevate basketball in Australia but to impact the global landscape of the sport," Anthony said via NBL.com.
The third panelist was Lopez from the Breakers. Although he isn’t eligible until the 2026 NBA Draft, many view him as a lottery prospect in that class. He is also one of the best Mexican basketball prospects ever.
Lopez’s choice to leave a Spanish club in Europe and join the Next Stars program is one of the most significant indictments of the program. The league hopes that Lopez’s involvement in the program, along with Kenny Smith and Carmelo Anthony, and the NBL All-Star event, will lead more top-end prospects to take his career path, especially if he is a top-ten pick next season.
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