Brook Lopez

Lopez was drafted by the New Jersey Nets 10th overall. His twin brother, Robin, was drafted 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns. Lopez played in his first NBA game on October 29, 2008 in a 95-85 Nets win. In his first game Lopez came off the bench and had 8 points 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in 25 minutes.[3] Lopez began starting for the Nets after an injury took Josh Boone out of the line-up, and afterwards he started putting up solid numbers for the team. Lopez was selected to compete in the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge. For his rookie season Lopez averaged 13.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, playing in all 82 games of the regular season. He ranked 4th in the NBA in total blocks with 154 and 9th in blocks per game with 1.9, which was first among rookies.[4] He finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the All-Rookie first team.[5] He was selected as NBA Rookie of the Month twice in the months of January and February. The Nets finished at 34-48, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

Lopez shooting a free throw in November 2009

The Nets started the 2009–10 season going 0-18, the worst start to a season in NBA history. Because of their start the Nets fired head coach Lawrence Frank.[6] The Nets won their first game on December 4, 2009 against the Charlotte Bobcats 97-91. Lopez contributed in the win with 31 points and 14 rebounds.[7] In his second season, Lopez established career bests in minutes played per game (36.9) and rebounds per game (8.6) while averaging 18.8 points per game. Lopez started in all the Nets' games in the 2009–10 season. Despite his improving play, however, the Nets struggled all season, finishing with one of the worst records in NBA history at 12-70; only 3 more wins than the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers.[8]

For his third NBA season, Lopez for the third consecutive year played in all 82 regular season games. Lopez struggled rebounding the ball during the season and was criticized by head coach Avery Johnson because of his rebounding.[9] During the season the Nets traded for all-star point guard Deron Williams. The move helped Lopez out significantly, as he saw his scoring average increase. During the season Lopez averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks. The Nets finished at 24-58, once again missing the playoffs.[10]

In the preseason of the lockout-shortened 2011–2012 campaign, Lopez broke his right foot and missed the first 32 games of the regular season. In his season debut against the Milwaukee Bucks, Lopez finished with 9 points and 2 boards. In only his third game back, he scored a season high 38 points in a road win over the Dallas Mavericks. Five games after his season debut, he injured his right ankle in a win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Due to the Nets' poor record, they decided to shut down Lopez for the remainder of the 2011–2012 season.[11] In the little time that Lopez played he averaged 19.2 points and a career low in rebounds with 3.6.

Lopez with the Nets in March 2013

On July 11, 2012, the Nets re-signed Lopez to a four-year, $61 million contract extension.[12] Lopez got off to a hot start in 2012, scoring 27 points in the season opener against the Toronto Raptors. He followed that performance by scoring 20 or more points in seven of the next twelve games, before injuring his ankle in a win over the Boston Celtics on November 28. The Nets struggled to a 2-5 record without Lopez before he returned on December 14. He began to play well again in late December, posting three straight 20 point, 10 rebound games, including a 35-point, 11 rebound performance in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 29.[13]

On January 30, 2013, NBA Commissioner David Stern selected Lopez to play in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game, his first All-Star appearance, replacing Rajon Rondo who had suffered a season-ending ACL injury.[14] In the game, Lopez finished the game with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 points in 11 minutes; all of his points came from the free throw line.[15] On March 20, 2013, the Nets were on the road playing the Dallas Mavericks when Lopez had 38 points and 11 rebounds in a 113-97 Nets win. His 38-point total was only 1 point away from his career high of 39.[16] At the end of the 2012–13 season, Lopez averaged 19.4 points and 6.9 rebounds, as he also set a new career high in blocks with 2.1. At the end of the season, the Nets won 49 games and were the fourth seed in the east.[17] Lopez played all seven of the Nets playoff games, averaging 22.3 points and 7.4 rebounds. The Nets were eliminated in a seven-game, first-round series by the Chicago Bulls.

In a season-opening loss at the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lopez scored 21 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.[18] On November 15, 2013, Lopez logged 27 points and 7 rebounds in an overtime win over the Phoenix Suns. On December 7, 2013, Lopez had 32 points and 7 rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks.[19] On December 20, 2013, the Nets announced Lopez was out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury he had suffered the night before against the Philadelphia 76ers.[20] In the 17 games that Lopez played, he averaged 20.7 points 6 rebounds 56.3% from the field and 81.7% from the free throw line. This was the first season he didn't manage to record at least one double-double.[21]

On November 3, 2014, Lopez made his 2014–15 season debut after missing the first two games with a foot injury. In just under 24 minutes of action, he recorded 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal in the 116-85 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[22] He went on to miss eight games between December 8 and 21 with a lower back strain, and following his return on December 23 against Denver, Lopez was benched in favor of Mason Plumlee who was the starting center in Lopez' absence. He remained coming off the bench for three more games before starting alongside Plumlee on December 30 against Chicago with Kevin Garnett out resting.[23] He subsequently recorded 29 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in the 96-82 win.[24]

On March 20, 2015, Lopez recorded 32 points and a season-high 18 rebounds in a 129-127 triple overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks.[25] On April 6, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, March 30 through Sunday, April 5. He led the Nets to a 3-1 week behind team-leading averages of 20.8 points (sixth in the conference), 10.3 rebounds (fourth in the conference) and 2.0 blocks (tied-fifth in the conference).[26]

On June 26, 2015, Lopez opted out of his contract with the Nets to become a free agent.[27]

On July 9, 2015, Lopez re-signed with the Nets to a three-year deal.[28] On December 8, in a win over the Houston Rockets, Lopez became the sixth player to make 400 starts for the Nets franchise, following Buck Williams (633), Jason Kidd (504), Kerry Kittles (455), Richard Jefferson (417) and Jason Collins (405).[29] On December 26, in a loss to the Washington Wizards, Lopez made nine field goals and passed Vince Carter (3,126) for second in franchise history. Lopez finished the game with 3,127 career field goals made, a mark trailing only Buck Williams (3,981).[30]

On January 2, 2016, Lopez recorded a then season-high 30 points and 13 rebounds in a 100–97 win over the Boston Celtics.[31] Two days later, he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, December 28 through Sunday, January 3.[32] On January 24, he scored a season-high 31 points in a 116–106 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[33] He topped that mark six days later, recording 33 points and 10 rebounds in a 105–103 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.[34] On February 19, he tied his season-high of 33 points in a 109–98 win over the New York Knicks. He moved past Richard Jefferson (8,507 points) into third place on the Nets' career scoring list.[35] On March 24, with 22 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lopez moved past Vince Carter into second place on the Nets' career scoring list with 8,835 points.[36]

During the offseason, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told Lopez to be ready to become a three-point shooting specialist during training camp.[37] On November 2, 2016, Lopez recorded 34 points and 11 rebounds in a 109–101 win over the Detroit Pistons. He hit four three-pointers during the game, matching his career total for three-pointers made;[38] he also made multiple three-pointers in a game for the first time in his career.[39] On November 15, he recorded 30 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in a 125–118 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the Nets' franchise leader in blocked shots, passing George Johnson's 863 blocks.[40] On December 28, he scored 33 points and hit a career-high five three-pointers in a 101–99 loss to the Chicago Bulls.[41] On January 25, 2017, he had another 33-point effort while setting a career high with seven three-pointers in a 109–106 loss to the Miami Heat.[42] On February 15, 2017, he scored a season-high 36 points and tied his career high with eight blocks in a 129–125 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.[43] On March 1, he scored 24 points in a 109–100 win over the Sacramento Kings. It was only Brooklyn's 10th win of the season, as Lopez surpassed 10,000 points with the Nets. He became the second player in Nets history to score 10,000 points—his 10,014 points seeing him sit behind only Buck Williams (10,440) on the franchise list.[44] On March 26 against Atlanta, Lopez became the Nets' career leader in field goals, passing Buck Williams. Lopez got the seven field goals he needed to pass Williams' team record of 3,981.[45] With 25 points against the Boston Celtics on April 10, Lopez passed Williams to become the franchise's career leading scorer.[46]

On June 22, 2017, Lopez was traded, along with the rights to Kyle Kuzma (the 27th pick in the 2017 NBA draft), to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov.[47] In his debut for the Lakers in their season opener on October 19, 2017, Lopez scored 20 points in a 108–92 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.[48] On November 3, 2017, he hit six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 34 points in a 124–112 win over his former team, the Brooklyn Nets.[49] He missed eight games between December 20 and January 1 with a right ankle injury.[50][51]

On July 17, 2018, Lopez signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.[52] In his debut for the Bucks in their season opener on October 17, 2018, Lopez scored 14 points in a 113–112 win over the Charlotte Hornets.[53] On November 11, he had a career-high eight 3-pointers and 28 points in a 121–114 win over the Denver Nuggets.[54] After not making a single 3-point shot in his first six NBA seasons, Lopez became a reliable threat from deep, including making at least six 3-pointers in three out of four games for the Bucks between November 6–11.[54][55] He gained the nickname "Splash Mountain", a nod to the Splash Brothers, the prolific 3-point-shooting guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and the Disney Parks ride of the same name.[56] On January 1, Lopez had 25 points and made 7 of 12 from 3-point range in a 121–98 win over the Detroit Pistons.[57] On March 19, he tied a season high with 28 points in a 115–101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.[58] In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Lopez scored a playoff career-high 29 points to lead the Bucks to a 108–100 win over the Toronto Raptors.[59] Lopez signed a 4 year, $52 million contract extension with the Milwaukee Bucks following the 2019 season.[60]