Veteran center Brook Lopez has finalized a two-year, nearly $18 million contract with the LA Clippers, a move that marks a homecoming for the Southern California native who grew up watching the team’s long-standing struggles.
Speaking Monday at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Lopez praised the franchise’s remarkable turnaround. The Clippers currently hold the NBA’s longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons at 14.
“I’m a Cali boy. I grew up in the valley in North Hollywood. Obviously, things were very different back then,” Lopez said. “To see where the Clippers have come now, it’s just astonishing. It’s beautiful. I’m glad to be a part of it and hopefully, I can help take them even further up.”
The contrast is stark: for the first 25 years of Lopez’s life, the Clippers had the worst overall record in the NBA. Over the past 12 years, they have the second-best, trailing only the Golden State Warriors. The team now boasts a star-studded roster including Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, a championship-winning coach in Tyronn Lue, and a state-of-the-art new venue, the Intuit Dome, under the ownership of Steve Ballmer.
The move also represents a reunion for Lopez, as the Clippers’ front office is led by Lawrence Frank, his first NBA coach with the then-New Jersey Nets. “Definitely a full-circle moment,” Lopez remarked.
Lopez, 37, returns to Los Angeles after a successful seven-year tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he won an NBA title and averaged 13 points and 2.1 blocks per game. While he has been a career-long starter, he may transition to a different role alongside the Clippers’ starting center, Ivica Zubac.
“I think we complement each other extremely well,” Lopez said of the potential 7-foot pairing. “I think we’ll be great defensively, just dominating the paint… And then offensively, we complement each other there as well. [I can] spread the floor for him, give him all the room in the paint.”
While acknowledging the personal perks of returning home, the well-known Disney enthusiast insisted his main motivation was competing for a title.
“The money’s nice, but that’s not what it’s about for me,” Lopez said. “I love playing… and I love winning just as much. I got a great taste for it in Milwaukee and these guys are all about that here… It’s a perfect fit.”
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