DENVER -- Kenyon Martin asked the question. So, Eduardo Najera reflected and responded in cut-and-dried terms, in 11 easily digestible words.
"What's it like being the only Mexican basketball player in the NBA?" Martin asked his Denver Nuggets teammate.
"What would it be like," Najera told Martin, "to be the only black player?"
Born in a country of 109 million and now in a league of 400-plus, Najera is the only active NBA player born in Mexico and just the second in league history.
There have been more players hailing from Turkey, Panama and even Poland who drew an NBA paycheck.
Najera, 31, is not an NBA star and he takes a back seat to his more colorful and more headline-making teammates. But the 6-8 forward has made it through eight NBA seasons with three teams, averaging 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds. Not exactly eye-popping numbers. On any given night, though, he's liable to end a game with court burns on his knees, scrapes on his elbow. His game is based on hustle, his performance is measured on grit.
Now that the Lakers have ended the Nuggets' season, it's unclear where Najera will play next year.
He will become a free agent this summer after his five-year deal with Denver runs out. He earned $4.95 million this season and said he wants to play for a winner next year.
While Najera will be a modest name in this summer's NBA free agent derby, south of the border he's a pretty big deal.
In Mexico, his clean-cut face graces Gatorade bottles. He rubs elbows with multibillionaire Carlos Slim Domit. Najera's statistics are documented in newspapers, his highlights shown nightly on television.
Basketball takes a back seat to soccer and baseball in Mexico, but Najera stands out.
"It's not like [Allen Iverson] going down there. But I guess I'm one of the top athletes in the country, including soccer players, and the media has given me a lot of attention, a lot of support these past eight years," Najera said.
It's also allowed the NBA, which has hosted preseason games in Mexico, to tap into an additional market.
And it's paved the way for Najera to become a sponsor machine: His other sponsors include Wonder Bread, Adidas and Corona. "Being in the NBA isn't easy," said Juan Pablo Garcia, president of Canels Chewing Gum, the leading chewing gum and candy manufacturer in Mexico and a friend of Najera's. "But he's kept his feet on the ground and been an example for all Mexicans."
