Brook Lopez

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Lopez was born in Panorama City, California, to Deborah Ledford and his now deceased father, Heriberto Lopez, a native of Cuba. He moved from Los Angeles to Oak Harbor, Washington, while in second grade, then to Fresno, California, where he spent the rest of his childhood and attended San Joaquin Memorial High School. He played basketball with his twin brother, Robin Lopez, and Quincy Pondexter. As a senior, he averaged 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. He played AAU for the Elite Basketball Organization (EBO) with his brother, Derrick Jasper and Tre'Von Willis. He committed to Stanford University early in 2005. His maternal grandfather played in the National Industrial Basketball League for the Milwaukee Allen-Bradleys.

In Their Own Story

The 2012–13 season marked Lopez's highest individual achievement with the Nets. On March 20, he dropped 38 points and 11 rebounds in a road win over Dallas, just one point shy of his career high of 39 set earlier that month. That year, he averaged 19.4 points and 6.9 rebounds while setting a new career high with 2.1 blocks per game. The Nets secured the fourth seed in the East with 49 wins, though they were eliminated in a seven-game first-round series by the Chicago Bulls. Lopez played all seven playoff games, averaging 22.3 points and 7.4 rebounds. In the 2014–15 season, he made history on December 8 by becoming only the sixth player to record 400 starts for the franchise. Later that month, in a loss to Washington, he passed Vince Carter for second all-time in franchise field goals made with 3,127. On March 20, 2015, he recorded 32 points and a season-high 18 rebounds in a triple-overtime victory over Milwaukee.

Reader's Guide

Lopez played two seasons at Stanford, earning All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention and All-Pac-10 Freshman Team honors as a freshman, and All-Pac-10 First Team and All-American Third Team as a sophomore. He hit a game-winning buzzer-beater in the second round of the 2008 NCAA tournament against Marquette. He declared for the 2008 NBA draft on March 31, 2008. He was drafted 10th overall by the New Jersey Nets. He played nine seasons for the Nets franchise, becoming its all-time leading scorer. He was named an NBA All-Star in 2013. He played one season with the Los Angeles Lakers before joining the Milwaukee Bucks, where he won an NBA championship in 2021 and was twice named to the NBA All-Defensive Team.

Did You Know?

• Lopez was selected to compete in the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge.
• He finished third in NBA Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the All-Rookie first team.
• Lopez was selected as NBA Rookie of the Month twice in January and February of his rookie season.
• He was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played March 30 through April 5, 2015.
• Lopez's twin brother, Robin, was drafted 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the same draft.