Throughout the pre-draft cycle, the Golden State Warriors have been connected to virtually every prospect imagineable in the range of 11th overall.
In part, that's the nature of mock drafts and our pre-draft speculation— it's often wrong, and not just marginally. But it's also due to how deep this draft class is. There's so much talent packed even into the top 20 picks that there's an argument to be made for almost every player to go inside the lottery.
This draft has its 'generational' prospects. It's got its league-ready contributors and its wild upside swings. But out of every prospect projected to go within the first round, there's been one major wildcard— Karim López out of the NBL.
López, a rangy forward with a strong all-around skill-set but without eye-popping athletic traits, has been one of the most polarizing prospects in this year's class. Some see him as an archetypal 3-and-D player, while others view him as a late first-round selection with little athletic upside. Those who tend towards the former of those views have, at times, connected him to the Warriors at 11th overall.
Jeremy Woo, in his latest mock draft for ESPN, made clear that the current interest in López continues to crystallize in the back half of the lottery. While a rise for López into the top-10 was likely never a real possibility, this keeps him firmly in Golden State's draft range.
Warriors need to keep an eye on Karim López as his draft range continues to crystallize
Here's why López's projected draft range matters. There are times when you go against the grain in a draft setting, and it pays off tremendously. More often than not, though, you are opening yourself up to tremendous failure.
López, on the surface, has all the makings of an ideal 3-and-D prospect. He came in at 6'8.25" with a 6'11.5" wingspan at the NBA Combine. Playing against pro-level competition as a 19-year-old in the NBL, he averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and two assists while shooting 32.6% from beyond the arc. While the perimeter shooting numbers weren't great, his 71.7 free-throw percentage and smooth jumper leave room to believe in his growth in that aspect of his game.
But it's also difficult to chart a direct path to him becoming more than a role player at the next level. His athleticism doesn't pop off the tape, and no aspect of his game— neither his finishing nor his shooting or downhill burst— seems to be truly elite. Any team that selects him in the first round will be taking a major bet on its ability to fine-tune his shot-selection and defense.
López's range of outcomes, both in terms of his draft slot and his upside as an NBA player, is pretty wide.
There's still a world in which López falls into the 20s. But as Woo indicates, teams across the back half of the lottery have continued to show interest in the young forward as the Draft approaches. With a wildcard like López, other teams' perceptions matter even if an organization won't publicly admit it.
If interest in López had crystallized in, say, the range of 17th-24th overall, the Warriors would have no business even looking at the forward at 11th. The risk would be too great. But if other teams truly believe he's worth a lottery selection, it's something Golden State should, at the very least, consider.
For a team in need of immediate contributors, there would need to be a solid belief in López's ability to make some sort of an impact as a rookie. If that's in place, though, López should still be on the Warriors' radar heading into the 2026 NBA Draft.
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