There’s less than one week until the 2026 NBA Draft in Brooklyn, and one NBL Next Star continues to turn heads in private team workouts.

Former New Zealand Breakers Karim Lopez confirmed that he had lined up a workout, alongside fellow projected lottery pick Nate Ament, with the Brooklyn Nets, who hold the sixth overall pick.

“I haven't had any of these group workouts, but I'll be having a couple soon. I'm going to Brooklyn in a couple of days," Lopez said on The Kevin O’Connor Show.

During that workout, Bleacher Report's NBA Draft Insider Jonathan Wasserman reports Lopez "performed very well and won the majority of matchup opportunities".

Since then, the Locked On Bulls Podcast has reported that the Mexican forward has worked out for the Chicago Bulls, who hold the fourth and 15th picks in the first round.

“The Chicago Bulls have officially brought in Karim Lopez for an in-person workout,” the Locked On Bulls Podcast said.

“He did really [well] in the Draft Combine, being one of those jumbo forwards that projects to [be able to] guard multiple positions, which a lot of people like.

“He's an explosive jumper, he moves really good off ball, and he catches those angles and can be a really good cutter.

“Karim Lopez is an interesting prospect for the Chicago Bulls.”

> READ MORE: HOW THE NBL PREPARED KARIM LOPEZ FOR THE NBA

Another team reportedly intrigued with the 19-year-old, who helped the Breakers win the first-ever Ignite Cup Final, are the Bucks, according to reporter Gery Woelfel, who covers sports in Wisconsin.

“The 6-9 forward [Lopez] has raised eyebrows in some of his pre-Draft workouts,” Woelfel said.

“In one workout, after going through some highly intense drills, Lopez shot a barrage of three-pointers effortlessly and effectively, hitting on a high percentage of them.

"The Bucks, with the 10th overall pick, are among several late-lottery teams intrigued by Lopez.”

The Mexican's next reported workout, according to Warriors Beat Reporter Danny Emerman, will be with Golden State alongside Michigan's Aday Mara.

The Next Star, who averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game across the 2025–26 Hungry Jack’s NBL season while shooting 49 per cent from the field, was among the 14 players who received invitations to the draft’s Green Room last week, with six more players receiving invitations this week.

He has also drawn comparisons to a Hall of Famer, with ESPN’s Marc J. Spears last month saying that he has “Scottie Pippen kind of things to him".

In the latest mock drafts, Yahoo Sports has Lopez slated to be selected with the ninth pick by the Dallas Mavericks, while ESPN’s Jeremy Woo has the Mexican forward projected to go at pick 14 to Charlotte.

The Next Stars program has seen six players drafted in the first round across the last six NBA drafts, including LaMelo Ball (2020), Josh Giddey (2021), Ousmane Dieng (2022) and Alex Sarr (2024), all being selected inside the lottery.