Brook Lopez · Biography

Brook Robert Lopez was born on April 1, 1988, in Los Angeles, California, and developed as a player at San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno, where he played alongside his twin brother Robin, one minute younger and also an NBA center. Standing over seven feet tall, he has played center throughout his professional career. He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 2008, spent one season with the Los Angeles Lakers, won the 2021 title with the Milwaukee Bucks and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in July 2025.

Early years and Stanford

The Lopez twins arrived together at Stanford University in 2006. As a freshman, Brook averaged 12.6 points and 6 rebounds. His breakout came in 2007-08: 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, numbers that earned him First-Team All-Pac-10 honors and a place on the AP and NABC Third-Team All-America squads in 2008. After two college seasons he declared for the draft.

Draft and the Nets years

The New Jersey Nets selected him tenth overall in the 2008 draft. He made the 2009 All-Rookie First Team and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. He became the team's main offensive option as the franchise moved to Brooklyn in 2012, and in 2013 he earned his first All-Star selection, named as the replacement for the injured Rajon Rondo. That spring he played a first-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls.

He re-signed in 2012 and again in 2015. Before the 2016-17 season, head coach Kenny Atkinson asked him to add the three-pointer to his game, a change that shaped the rest of his career: he shot 34.6 percent from deep that season. In November 2016 he passed George Johnson as the franchise leader in blocks, and in March and April 2017 he overtook Buck Williams in career field goals and total points, becoming the Nets' all-time leading scorer.

Los Angeles Lakers

On June 22, 2017, the Nets traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers, along with the draft rights to Kyle Kuzma, in exchange for D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov. He played one season in Los Angeles, with outside shooting by then a regular part of his game, before becoming a free agent in the summer of 2018.

Milwaukee Bucks and the 2021 title

On July 17, 2018, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. Alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo he settled into the role of a center who spaced the floor from three, earning the nickname “Splash Mountain,” while still protecting the rim. He was named to the All-Defensive Second Team in 2020. In 2021 the Bucks won the NBA championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4-2 in the Finals with Lopez as the starting center.

His defense peaked in 2022-23: on March 9, 2023, he recorded a career-high nine blocks in a game, and at the end of the season he finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and made the All-Defensive First Team. He stayed in Milwaukee through 2025, seven seasons in all.

Playing style

Lopez entered the league as a traditional center who worked in the post and from midrange. His shift toward the three-pointer, which began in Brooklyn in 2016, made him an unusual player: a big man able to shoot in volume from outside while defending near the basket with his length and his reading of opponents' shots. In Milwaukee that dual profile fit a system that needed space for Antetokounmpo's drives.

Los Angeles Clippers

On July 6, 2025, he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, his second Los Angeles franchise after his season with the Lakers. On December 26, 2025, he made nine three-pointers against the Portland Trail Blazers, a career best, scoring 31 points in a 119-103 win.