Kevin Garnett showers praise on Milwaukee Bucks center and leading DPOY candidate - "He's had like two careers"
Brook Lopez and the Milwaukee Bucks (53-21) are first in the Eastern Conference standings, with Lopez being the frontrunner to win the NBA DPOY award.
The Bucks center has played 15 seasons in the NBA with no signs of slowing down. Lopez played for nine seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and is the franchise's all-time leading scorer. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and then signed with the Milwaukee Bucks as he won his first championship in 2021.
Kevin Garnett, in a segment with Paul Pierce on Showtime Basketball, said this about Lopez:
"He's had like two careers," Garnett said.
Garnett gave the Bucks center his due flowers with how he has been playing this season on both the offensive and defensive ends of the season. This is in response to what Paul Pierce said:
"Nobody has extended their career and adjusted to the new NBA more than [Brook Lopez]. He's a whole different player. He has adjusted to the new era. Nobody has adjusted more into playing in this era than him," Pierce said.
Brook Lopez started off as a player who dominated the paint during his career with the Brooklyn Nets. Lopez averaged 18.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. In his 9th and final season with Brooklyn, his three-point shooting started becoming more efficient and turning into what it is today. He shot 34.6% from deep during the 2016-17 season.
Now with the Milwaukee Bucks, he has transformed his game into a more versatile approach to compliment Giannis Antetukoumnpo's game and being alongside him on the frontcourt.
In terms of defense, both can be viewed as the team's dominant twin-towers combo in protecting the paint and making things difficult for opponents. While on offense, he moves into the three-point area to add shooting options for Giannis and the team's guards to kick it out to whenever he's penetrating, they're penetrating the basket as he complements the offense's spacing.
For the season, Brook Lopez is averaging 15.5 points on 52.1% shooting, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and a defensive rating of 106.9. Lopez is such a defensive presence down low that opposing teams end up shooting just 51.6% at the rim.
Brook Lopez has managed to stay in the league longer than most big men due to his transition into a center who can do almost everything on both ends of the floor for the Milwaukee Bucks as the league has changed over the years, with shooting and spacing being more valued than ever.