Eduardo Najera is by far the most prominent NBA player Mexico has ever produced.

He appeared in 619 career regular-season games, nearly triple the combined total of Gustavo Ayon, Jorge Gutierrez and Horacio Llamas -- the only three other Mexican-born players in NBA history.

However, Najera grew up wanting to follow in his father's footsteps as a baseball player in the northern city of Chihuahua. But it was his basketball performance as an exchange student at Cornerstone Christian Academy in San Antonio that paved the way for a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma, where he developed into an All-American under coach Kelvin Sampson.

Najera became the first (and still only) Mexican-born player selected in the NBA draft when the Houston Rockets identified him as a second-rounder in 2000. After adraft-night trade sent Najera to the Dallas Mavericks, he went on to enjoy a 12-season career with the Mavs, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets and Charlotte Bobcats.

Since his playing career ended in 2012, Najera has become a part-owner of the NBA D-League's Texas Legends, a team he also coached for three seasons. He currently lives in the Dallas area and serves as a scout for the Mavericks.

With two NBA games to be played in Mexico City this week (Suns vs. Mavericks, 10 p.m. ET Thursday; Suns vs. Spurs 6 p.m. ET Saturday), we caught up with Najera to discuss his career and the state of basketball in Mexico.

What attracted you to basketball and how old were you when you began playing?

I was 14 and wanted