Brook Lopez emerges as the leading shot-blocker in the 2023-24 NBA season
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Living up to his status as one of the league’s top rim protectors, Brook Lopez has emerged as the leading shot-blocker this season. After eight weeks of competition in the ongoing NBA season, Lopez is averaging three blocks a game.
Overcoming the French phenom
Top rookie Victor Wembanyama is also averaging three swats a night but has played fewer games than Lopez. Before the Milwaukee Bucks-San Antonio Spurs duel on Tuesday night, Brook has already played 26 games, two more than Wemby.
Trailing Lopez and Wembanyama are Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren with 2.7 blocks per contest. The Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis is fourth with 2.6 blocks, followed by Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves with 2.4 blocks a game.
DPOY convo?
Brook was a frontrunner in last season’s Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) race but narrowly lost the award to Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. Lopez finished second in last season’s DPOY voting with an average of 2.5 blocks.
This year, Lopez’s best defensive effort occurred on November 3rd when he fell one block shy of tying his career-high by recording eight blocks in the Bucks’ 110-105 win over the New York Knicks. There have been five games this season where the 7-footer center collected at least five games.
Apart from effectively manning the paint, Lopez is also contributing to other facets of the Bucks’s campaign this season. The 16-year veteran is averaging 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, adding more firepower to a Bucks squad that features a deadly one-two punch in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.