Clippers' Brook Lopez reflects on end of seven-year run with Bucks

Alex Kirschenbaum

Clippers' Brook Lopez reflects on end of seven-year run with Bucks image

While in Las Vegas taking in his new team's Summer League action, L.A. Clippers reserve center Brook Lopez recently looked back on his long tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 7-foot-1 Stanford product spent seven of his 17 pro seasons (and counting) in Milwaukee, where he established himself as a defensive force for the first time in his career, earning two All-Defensive Team nods and serving as a starter on the Bucks' 2021 title team.

After being badly outplayed by his eventual replacement, then-Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, during a brisk five-game playoff series defeat this spring, Lopez departed for his hometown Clippers as a free agent. The 37-year-old inked a two-year, $17.9 million deal to back up starter Ivica Zubac.

In speaking with gathered journalists, Lopez reflected on his journey with the Bucks, per The Athletic's Law Murray.

"I'm obviously [most] proud of winning a championship [while in Milwaukee], but I'm thankful to all the players that I played with, coaches and staff, PTs, strength and conditioning people, all the people that... put me in a position to be successful," Lopez said. "Those guys took care of me and we have such a special bound on the basketball court."

When asked what inspired him to sign a deal that will take him through his 19th NBA season, Lopez revealed that, while the cash was appreciated, his interest runs deeper than that.

He has, after all, already achieved generational wealth just in on-court earnings, having netted $220.7 million through the end of his Bucks deal in 2024-25.

"The money's nice, it's not what it's about for me," Lopez said. "I love playing, I love hooping, I've loved it since I was a little kid [when] I watched my older brothers play. Just always been around it, and I love winning just as much. I want to keep winning. Got a great taste for it in Milwaukee, and these guys are all about that here, and I'm all about it, so it's a perfect fit."

MORE NEWS: Further details revealed on new Bucks changes to guard's contract

Alex Kirschenbaum

Alex Kirschenbaum is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He grew up a devout Bulls fan, but his hoops fanaticism now extends to non-Bulls teams in adulthood. Currently also a scribe for Hoops Rumors, Athlon Sports and "Small Soldiers" director Joe Dante's film site Trailers From Hell, Alex is an alum of Sports Illustrated's On SI fan sites, Newsweek, Men's Journal, Grizzlies fan site Grizzly Bear Blues, and Bulls fan sites Blog-A-Bull and Pippen Ain't Easy, among others.