The Athletic: The NBA’s only Mexican-born draft pick has father to thank

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Last year, Eduardo Nájera purchased a stake in Dorados de Chihuahua, which operates professional baseball and basketball teams in the northern Mexican state he grew up in.

Nájera, who in 2000 became the first Mexican-born player drafted into the NBA, had long held ambitions of owning a sports team. Upon retirement in 2012, he bought a piece of the Texas Legends, the Dallas Mavericks’ G League affiliate. In 2023, he became a minority owner of the Dallas Sidekicks, a Major Arena Soccer League team.

Nájera’s investment in Dorados de Chihuahua was different than his others because it had little to do with dollars and cents. It was an emotional decision. His father, Servando, was a power-hitting first baseman for the Dorados de Chihuahua baseball team starting in the 1970s. Built like an oak tree, Servando was nicknamed “El Vikingo” (English translation: “The Viking”) because of his strength and flowing hair.

One of Nájera’s wishes was to take his father to a game in Chihuahua. He never got the chance because Servando dealt with nerve damage that left him bedridden. In December, Servando died at 82 years old. Before he died, Servando told his son that his involvement in Dorados de Chihuahua had brought him joy.

“He was honored and proud about it,” Nájera said.

Nájera, 49, still holds the distinction of being the only Mexican-born NBA draft pick. His 12-year playing career, which included five seasons with the Mavericks, wouldn’t have happened without witnessing his father’s pursuit of his own professional sports career on a dusty baseball diamond in Chihuahua.

“When I tell you it was dirt, there was nothing green about it,” said Nájera, who will be an NBA ambassador at Saturday’s game between the Mavericks and Detroit Pistons in Mexico City. “I didn’t like going with my father because it was so windy. You had the dust all over your face. He was just doing sprints. Doing his training for baseball.

“That to me kind of laid a foundation of who I became. A hard worker in the NBA. Someone who was trying to outwork everyone.”

In 1995, Oklahoma men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson received a call from one of his assistants who was scouting a high school tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. Cornerstone Christian Academy, a private school in San Antonio, had a player worth recruiting.

There was one problem: He didn’t speak English.

Sampson flew to San Antonio, where Nájera was living with an American host family. They first met on April 19, 1995. Sampson can still recite the date from memory for a terrible reason: That morning, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed, killing 168 people.

A translator facilitated their first conversation. The language barrier complicated things, but Sampson came away convinced that he needed to find a way to get Nájera to play for Oklahoma.

“Sometimes you can look at a kid’s eyes and see all the way to Amsterdam,” said Sampson, who now is the basketball coach at the University of Houston, where he’s helped the Cougars reach two Final Four appearances. “But when you look at Eduardo’s eyes, they were hungry eyes. He just had this body language, the way he looked at you. It told me two things: This kid was really hungry, but he also needed help.”

Before Nájera could receive NCAA eligibility to play, he needed a passing score on the ACT. If he didn’t meet that requirement by the end of his first semester at Oklahoma, he would have to attend junior college.

Sampson was in his office on a game day when he heard commotion. Nájera had earned the needed ACT score two weeks before his deadline. Sampson was so happy that he cried.

Nájera had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his first game with Oklahoma against Louisiana-Monroe. He started 102 games in four years. As a senior, Nájera averaged 18.4 points and 9.2 rebounds. The player Sampson remembered struggling to order a pizza over the phone at the beginning of his college career had developed into an NBA prospect. He went 38th overall in the 2000 draft.

“I just sat there and said, ‘God is good,’” Sampson said. “I thought about his journey, how many times he took the ACT.

“Eduardo worked for a different reason than the other kids. He didn’t have a lot to go back to. He had to make it.”

In the NBA, Nájera established a reputation as one of the league’s most physical players. He set crushing screens and delivered hard fouls. He was a bit player on the 2002-03 Mavericks team starring Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash that reached the Western Conference Finals. Nájera remains friends with both of the now-Amazon NBA studio analysts.

Toward the tail end of Nowitzki’s 21-year career, Nájera cautioned him about the physical toll a long career could take.

“I told him he needed to stop because he wasn’t going to be able to walk,” Nájera said.

Nájera himself has plenty of battle scars from his playing days.

Last year, he had a disc replaced in his back. Earlier this year, he underwent surgery for a hip replacement. Nájera needed to use a walker to get around for four weeks. Then he graduated to a cane.

“I knew I was sacrificing my body in all the games I played and practiced,” Najera said. “But at the same time, I don’t regret anything. I loved it.”

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.

The infusion of more Mexican talent excites Nájera, as does the possibility that Mexico City could one day be awarded an NBA team.