Grizzlies' Karim López proud to make NBA draft history

· Yahoo Sports

The tears began to flood as Karim López sat beside his parents. The reality had just started to settle in, and he struggled to get it all out.

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"This is super special, honestly. I'm blessed . . . I have no words," he told ESPN.

On June 23, López became the first Mexican-born player to be selected in the first round of any NBA draft when the Memphis Grizzlies took him with the No. 21 pick.

Inside his black suit jacket, he clung to his roots. It revealed prominent Mexican flags, coupled with other Mexican symbols like cacti and tacos, draped in gold.

"It means a lot to me. It's a great opportunity for me and my country to have this platform. I'm super blessed and have a lot of pride," López said after the NBA draft at Barclays Center in New York.

As a 14-year-old, López left Hermosillo, Sonora, his hometown in Mexico, to play in Spain. He hoped to accelerate his development as a basketball player and played overseas professionally with Joventut Badalona’s youth team.

After two seasons, López signed with the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL, the professional Australian league. His destiny seemed to be on a collision course with professional basketball; his father, Jésus Hiram López, played for the Mexican national team. Decades later, Jésus López sat alongside his wife to witness his son make history.

"We see the value in having a locker room full of individuals of different backgrounds and diverse perspectives," Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman said after the first night of the NBA draft. “We do think we found a great value opportunity to bring Karim in and are optimistic about the player he can be."

Reach Commercial Appeal sports intern Said Bravo at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Karim López is first Mexican-born player to be first-round pick in NBA draft

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