What’s different about Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason?
What’s different about the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation this offseason? Jim Owczarski discusses next moves for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brook Lopez is signing a two-year, $18 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers after seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.The 37-year-old center transformed his game in Milwaukee, becoming a three-point shooting threat and a defensive standout.Lopez was a key contributor to the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship and 2024 NBA Cup title.
Brook Lopez‘s tenure in Milwaukee has come to an end, as his agency announced on ESPN that he is signing a 2-year, $18 million deal to return to Los Angeles and play for the Clippers.
Lopez, 37, a California native, played one season with the Lakers before joining the Bucks.
Lopez initially signed with the Bucks as a free agent in 2018 and wholly reinvented his game to fit with the modern NBA, becoming a true 3-point shooting threat after spending the bulk of his career as a low-post scorer.
He also became a standout defensive player, earning two all-defensive team nods and finishing as the runner-up in defensive player of the year voting in 2022-23. He also played a big role in helping Giannis Antetokounmpo win the 2019 defensive player of the year award as the primary rim protector for the Bucks, allowing Antetokounmpo to roam and make defensive plays all over the court.
Lopez played 469 regular season games (466 starts) in seven seasons with the Bucks, shooting 35.7% from behind the 3-point line while averaging 13.0 points per game. He also averaged 2.1 blocks per game in Milwaukee.
He also played in 76 playoff games for the Bucks and, of course, was a big piece of the team’s 2019 Eastern Conference finals run the 2021 championship team and 2024 NBA Cup championship squad.
Lopez finishes his career in Milwaukee second in franchise history in blocked shots, third in blocks per game and fourth in 3-pointers made and attempted.