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One notable ambassador for the Mavericks and the Mexico City Game is Eduardo Najera, one of six players from Mexico to play in the NBA. Najera, who was a Maverick from 2001 to 2004 and in 2009-10, encouraged his home country to embrace the Mavericks in March when the franchise donated a basketball court in Monterrey. “The Mavericks should be the team of Mexico,” Nájera said in a prepared statement. “This was my dream, when I was playing with the Mavericks, to do this type of event in Mexico. We want to continue the growth of basketball, specifically with the Dallas Mavericks throughout this country.”
It’s possible that as soon as next summer, Nájera will no longer be the only Mexican-born player drafted in the NBA. Karim López is an 18-year-old forward from Sonora, Mexico, who is spending this season with the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League. Draft analysts have predicted that if Lopez’s strong play in the NBL continues, he could be a top-10 selection.
In just a few months, López could make good on that assertion and become an unmistakable celebrity for millions of fans across Mexico, the U.S. and wherever pro basketball is followed. He is poised to become the first Mexican-born player to go in the first round of the NBA draft and join a handful of players from the country to play there in nearly 80 years. "I was born playing basketball; I mean, I like to say I had a ball in my hand since the day I was born," said López in Spanish. The phenom sat down with ESPN to discuss his story for Hispanic Heritage Month.
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Eduardo Villalpando: Norman Powell will make his debut for the Jamaican National Team during next month’s FIBA window in Mexico, a league source tells me. Jamaica will face Mexico, Barbados, and Costa Rica in World Cup Qualifiers. Suns big man Nick Richards will also join the squad. 🇯🇲
Mexico will get to see NBA stars play in a regular-season game in the 2025-26 season. The league announced on Tuesday that the Dallas Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons will be the teams sharing the court in a game in Mexico City in November. “The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Zignia Live today announced that The NBA Mexico City Game 2025 will feature the Dallas Mavericks and the Detroit Pistons playing a regular-season game hosted by Zignia Live at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Saturday, Nov. 1.,” the leagues' statement read (via the NBA's official website).
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Paige Hurd's new role? Engaged! The Power Book II: Ghost alum, 32, got engaged to Phoenix Suns forward Royce O'Neale, 31, at Viceroy Riviera Maya on Feb. 13 during a romantic getaway to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the couple exclusively confirms to PEOPLE. The pair were enjoying an intimate dinner at the luxury oceanfront resort surrounded by rose petals, soft candlelight and a crackling fireplace. For their final course, they were served a slice of red velvet cake with the question "Will You Marry Me?" written on the plate. "I was feeling nervous because I wasn’t trying to give off any nerve-wracking behavior or give any signs that something was up," O'Neale tells PEOPLE. "I was really excited because I knew Paige wasn’t expecting it and wanted it to be a huge, special surprise."
