Felipe Lopez: The Lebron before Lebron
Before Lebron James hit the scene there was another guy who was destined to be compared to the great Michael Jordan. Another high school phenom who would take the world by storm. His name was Felipe Lopez. The Dominican born basketball God immigrated to the states when he was 14 years old. He worked tirelessly on his craft and would become one of the most recognized and highly touted high school basketball players since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kenny Anderson. Lopez had all the tools to succeed and the country rallied around him as he embarked on his journey to the NBA.
In High School Felipe Lopez caught the attention of everybody including NBA Supersrar Shaquille O’Neal. Photo SportsLiveZone.com
Originally from the Dominican Republic, Lopez and his family moved to the United States in search of the American dream. His family settled in the south Bronx in search of better opportunities and quality of life. He never intended to chase the NBA dream, it’s just something that landed in his lap and he decided to take full advantage of the situation. Landing in the south Bronx wasn’t an easy transition by any stretch of the imagination and it took some time for Felipe to adjust. Drugs, gangs and violence plagued his new stomping grounds and sometimes he wondered the family move was the right decision.
Felipe Lopez decided to attend St. John’s and before he played one second of NCAA basketball he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Photo SportsIllustrated.com
Lopez began shaping his basketball journey at Rice High School in Manhattan, NYC. Barely able to speak English, he used basketball as his way to make friends. After all, Basketball has been known to be a universal language and bring people of all walks of life together. At 6-5 with uncanny agility, Lopez feasted on the competition. Scouts absolutely loved his high motor and his ability to take over a game at a moments notice. Before the start of his Junior year in 1992 Lopez was invited to attend the Adidas ABCD Camp in Las Vegas. This basketball camp was where all the best High School ballers went to showcase their talent. This year, Lopez would beat out Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse for the MVP award. His senior year Felipe would lead Rice to a Catholic league championship and won every award imaginable. Lopez made many All-American lists including McDonalds in 1994, earning Player of the Year honors from Gatorade, USA Today, Parade, and many others.
Lopez hit the ground running at St. John’s leading the team in scoring with 17 PPG. Photo Pinterest.com
Felipe Lopez chose to attend St. John’s University. He wanted to stay in New York City and bring St. John’s back to prominence. Before Lopez played one second of an NCAA Basketball game, Sports Illustrated put him on the cover of their magazine. This was a huge deal because I had been following his his career and him coming from Rice High School in my hometown made Lopez seem larger than life. He was going to be the player responsible for singlehandedly bringing the Big East Conference back!! The first St. John’s practice was televised on ESPN and over 5 thousand people packed in the gym to watch. The hype was at an all time high and Felipe would aim to satisfy the hype by any means necessary.
Lopez and his St John’s took on Allen Iverson and the Georgetown Hoyas. A legendary matchup at Madison Square Garden during their freshman year. Photo Getty Images
I remember watching Felipe play vs Allen Iverson for the fist time during their freshman year. Iverson coming to greet him and showing that respect. Two of the best college basketball players going head to head. Georgetown pulled off the win but both Iverson and Lopez put on great performances. Iverson finished with 33 Points and Lopez with 28. As his Freshman year went on, the hype and fanfare surrounding Lopez slowed down. Lopez and the Red Storm went 14-14 that season and missed post season play. Lopez put up about 17 PPG but the rest of the team struggled. That year he earned a spot on the All-Big East Rookie Team and All-Big East Third Team. His Sophomore and Junior year was more of the same and the team simply could not generate wins to get them back to prominence. The unrealistic expectations that many people had for Felipe began to take a toll on him and the joy of playing the game was gone. I think losing really took a toll on him as he’s always was on winning teams in his past. Finally, in his senior year he was able to lead the team to the NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round.
Lopez played in the NBA for 4 years but continued to work for the NBA as an ambassador for NBA Cares. He will always be a basketball legend. Photo Sports Illustrated
The San Antonio Spurs took Lopez with the 24th pick in the 1998 NBA draft. Even though the hype had died down, Felipe was still seen as a guy who could be a valuable asset to an NBA team. The Spurs sent Lopez to the Vancouver Grizzlies right away. He played two seasons with the Grizzlies before getting traded to the Washington Wizards. He would later play for the Mavericks and the Timberwolves, the last two teams he would play for before his career would be cut short by a knee injury.
Felipe Lopez participates at L.A. food bank during NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service as a part of 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend on February 16, 2018 in Commerce, California. (Photo by Bruce Yeung/NBAE via Getty Images)
He’s done some very positive things after his playing days were over. He’s an ambassador for NBA Cares and does great things in the communities across America. After everything was said and done, Felipe had no regrets on how everything turned out. He was able to live out his dream of making it to the pros and make good on a promise he made to his family. He has done a lot of work in the South Bronx as well as Washington Heights and is fully invested in helping children of Latino decent as well as all youth in general. Basketball saved his life the way it saved the lives of many young people like Felipe across the globe. We here at AllThingsHoops.com Salute Felipe and wish him continued health and happiness. ??