Brook Lopez
Encyclopedia
Brook Lopez is a 7'0" American basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

 who plays for the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

. He is the twin brother of fellow basketball player Robin Lopez
Robin Lopez
Robin Byron Lopez is an American professional basketball player. On June 26, 2008 he was drafted by the NBA's Phoenix Suns as the 15th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft...

. Lopez was selected 10th overall by the Nets in the 2008 NBA Draft
2008 NBA Draft
The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008 at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including...

, after playing two years for Stanford in the Pacific-10 Conference of the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

.

Early life and collegiate career

Brook Lopez was born in North Hollywood
North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
North Hollywood is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California, along the Tujunga Wash. It is bounded on the south by Moorpark Street and the Ventura Freeway, on the southwest by Burbank Blvd...

, Los Angeles to Deborah Ledford and his now-estranged father Heriberto Lopez, a native of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. He was born into a life of basketball and art, as his grandfather played at the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

. Lopez moved from Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

 to Oak Harbor, Washington
Oak Harbor, Washington
Oak Harbor is a city located on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington. The population was 22,075 at the 2010 census.Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915.-History:Oak Harbor is Whidbey Island's largest incorporated city...

 while in second grade to be near his older brother, Alex, who was playing basketball at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 at the time. He moved to his current hometown of Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...

 a year later, where he attended San Joaquin Memorial High School
San Joaquin Memorial High School
San Joaquin Memorial High School is a private Catholic high school located in Fresno, California. Founded in 1945, it is the only Catholic high school located in the greater Fresno area. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno with a current enrollment of about 620 students...

. While there, he played with his twin brother Robin Lopez
Robin Lopez
Robin Byron Lopez is an American professional basketball player. On June 26, 2008 he was drafted by the NBA's Phoenix Suns as the 15th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft...

, as well as Quincy Pondexter
Quincy Pondexter
Quincy Coe Pondexter is an American basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets. He was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 26th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and then traded to the New Orleans Hornets....

, a fellow NBA player for the New Orleans Hornets . Both teammates played with Lopez on their successful AAU team, the Elite Basketball Organization (EBO), along with Derrick Jasper
Derrick Jasper
Derrick Lamar Jasper is an American basketball player for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels who is from San Luis Obispo, California. He is listed as a point guard, but he is versatile enough to also play the shooting guard and small forward positions.-High school:...

 and Tre'Von Willis
Tre'Von Willis
Tre'Von Willis is basketball player for the UNLV Rebels mens basketball team. He transferred to UNLV from Memphis.-High school:...

, both of UNLV
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...

.
Brook along with his brother Robin comitted to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 early in 2005. The Lopez twins were the second twin combination at Stanford since Jason Collins
Jason Collins
Jason Paul Collins is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Atlanta Hawks. He graduated from Harvard-Westlake School, where his backup was actor Jason Segel...

 and Jarron Collins
Jarron Collins
Jarron Collins is an American professional basketball player.-High school career:Collins and his twin brother Jason graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California...

.
Both Brook and Robin competed in the 2006 McDonald's All-American Game against several current NBA players including Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant
Kevin Wayne Durant is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association . A 6'9" small forward/shooting guard who is also capable of playing power forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the...

 and Greg Oden
Greg Oden
Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. is an American basketball player at the center position. Oden is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA....

.

The 2006-2007 basketball season was Lopez's first season at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

. He was honored as an All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention while being named to the All-Pac-10 Freshman Team. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.0 rebounds over the course of the season. His next season he averaged 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. In the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament
2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...

, Lopez hit the game winning shot at the buzzer against the Marquette Golden Eagles
Marquette Golden Eagles
The Marquette Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Marquette University....

 to win 82-81 in overtime. He was named to the All-Pac-10 1st Team and a 3rd Team All-American his sophomore season.

On March 31, 2008, both Lopez brothers declared for the 2008 NBA draft.

NBA career

New Jersey Nets
Lopez was drafted by the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 10th overall. His twin brother Robin was drafted 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...

. Brook Lopez began starting for the Nets after an injury took Josh Boone out of the line up. After putting up solid numbers he is now the starting center for New Jersey. His career highs are 39 points, 20 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Lopez was selected to compete in the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge. For his rookie season, Lopez averaged 13.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, playing in all 82 games of the regular season. He ranked 4th in the NBA in total blocks with 154 and 9th in blocks per game with 1.9, which was first among rookies http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lopezbr01.html. He finished third in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting and was named to the All-Rookie first team. Lopez also was selected as NBA Rookie of the Month twice in the months of January and February. The Nets finished at 34-48, failing to qualify for the playoffs. In his second season, Lopez established career bests in minutes played per game (36.9) and rebounds per game (8.6) while averaging 18.8 points per game. The Nets, however, finished with one of the worst records in NBA history at 12-70. For his third NBA season, Lopez for the third consecutive year played in all 82 regular season games. Lopez struggled rebounding the ball during the season and was criticized by head coach Avery Johnson
Avery Johnson
Avery Johnson is a former American professional basketball player and current head coach of the National Basketball Association team New Jersey Nets. He has also coached the Dallas Mavericks, leading them to their first NBA Finals appearance and four consecutive 50+ win seasons...

 because of his rebounding. During the season the Nets traded for all-star point guard Deron Williams
Deron Williams
Deron Michael Williams , nicknamed D-Will, is an American basketball player currently with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association . Williams has also played for the Utah Jazz of the NBA and Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball League...

. The move helped Lopez out significantly, as he saw his scoring average increase. During the season Lopez averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks. The Nets finished at 24-58, once again missing the playoffs.

Regular season

|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...


| align="left" | New Jersey
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...


| 82 || 75 || 30.5 || .531 || .000 || .793 || 8.1 || 1.0 || .5 || 1.8 || 13.0
|-
| align="left" | 2009–10
2009–10 NBA season
The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2009, and ended on Wednesday, April 14, 2010....


| align="left" | New Jersey
| 82 || 82 || 36.9 || .499 || .000 || .817 || 8.6 || 2.3 || .7 || 1.7 || 18.8
|-
| align="left" | 2010–11
2010–11 NBA season
The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...


| align="left" | New Jersey
| 82 || 82 || 35.2 || .492 || .000 || .787 || 6.0 || 1.6 || .6 || 1.5 || 20.4
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 246 || 239 || 34.2 || .504 || .000 || .801 || 7.6 || 1.6 || 0.6 || 1.7 || 17.4

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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