One of the league's best defensive centers this past season and a finalist for the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year award, Brook Lopez is staying with the Milwaukee Bucks. According to Shams Charania, Lopez and the Bucks have agreed to a two-year, $48 million deal that keeps the veteran center in Milwaukee through the 2025-26 season.
In his 15th NBA season, Lopez put together one of the best seasons of his career as a two-way center. Known for being a big man who only looked to score in the paint and play with his back to the basket when he was younger, Lopez has turned himself into a reliable center who can stretch his game out to the perimeter offensively while being a true force on the interior defensively.
Making a career-high 136 three-pointers while shooting a career-best 37.4 percent from three-point range over the course of the 2022-23 season, Lopez also recorded a league-high 193 blocks. Receiving 31 total first-place votes for Defensive Player of the Year, the Bucks big man finished second in the voting behind Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Even though he just turned 35 years old in April, Lopez has proven that he still has plenty of years left in him and the Bucks will be counting on him to continue being their defensive anchor in the paint.
Brook Lopez fit with Bucks' future
Finishing with the league's best record at 58-24 this past season, the Bucks' high playoff aspirations came crashing down in the first-round when they lost in five games to the Miami Heat. As a result, Mike Budenholzer was dismissed as the head coach of the team after leading them to a championship in 2021 and former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin has replaced him on the sideline.
Tightening things up defensively and playing with a purpose are two points of emphasis Griffin continues to echo as keys to success for his team this offseason, which is why re-signing Lopez is a big deal for the Bucks. His ability to alter shots and be one of the league's best rim-protectors despite not being a lengthy, super-athletic big man is what makes the veteran so valuable.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best all-around defenders in the league and Jrue Holiday has always been known to be one of the best defensive guards in the league. As good as their offense has been through the years, Milwaukee won their championship in 2021 because of their effort defensively. Bringing back Lopez on a new deal and keeping him for the next few seasons ensures that the Bucks will be one of the best defensive teams in the league.
In 78 games this past season, all of which he started in, Lopez averaged 15.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 53.1 percent from the floor.
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