Brook Lopez: Back Home and Chasing a Championship with the Clippers
Player Brook Lopez, originally from California, has shared his impressions after deciding to join the Los Angeles Clippers with a two-year contract for almost 18 million dollars, during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Lopez, who grew up in Southern California, remembers the times when the Clippers were not a competitive team. Now, he sees a promising future.The Clippers have had 14 consecutive winning seasons, the longest active streak in the NBA. Lopez, who was born in 1988, lived the first 25 years of his life with a Clippers team that had the worst record in the NBA. In the last 12 years, the team has had the second-best record in the league, surpassed only by Golden State. The Clippers play in the new Intuit Dome, have stars like James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, have a winning coach like Tyronn Lue and a committed owner like Steve Ballmer. Additionally, the Clippers’ management is led by Lawrence Frank, who was Lopez’s first coach in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets.It’s incredible to see, but it’s very good. Seeing the rise, I’m a kid from California. I grew up in the valley in North Hollywood. Obviously, things were very different back then. And to see where the Clippers have come now, it’s amazing. It’s beautiful. I’m glad to be a part of it. And I hope I can help them go even higher.
Brook Lopez
Lopez returns to the Los Angeles area, after playing for the Lakers in the 2017-18 season, after seven seasons with Milwaukee, where he helped the Bucks win a title. He averaged 13 points and 2.1 blocks per game in those seven seasons, and the 37-year-old player has averaged 15.9 points in 17 seasons in the NBA. While he has been a starter for almost his entire career, he could have a different role with the Clippers, a team already strong on defense, which has Ivica Zubac as the starting center.Definitely a full-circle moment.
Brook Lopez
Among the advantages is returning home and being half an hour from Disneyland. But, for Lopez, the most important thing is joining a team with championship potential.I think we complement each other very well. Obviously, we’re going to be really big. I think we’re going to be great defensively, dominating the paint, sealing the paint. And then, offensively, we complement each other there as well. Opening up the court for him, giving him all the space in the paint to go crazy.
Brook Lopez
Money is good, but it’s not about that for me. I love to play, I love basketball, I’ve loved it since I was a kid. I watched my older brothers play. I’ve always been around it and I love winning as much as they do. I just want to keep winning. I had a great experience in Milwaukee and these guys are focused on that here and so am I. So it’s perfect.
Brook Lopez
