Brook Lopez emerges as the leading shot-blocker in the 2023-24 NBA season

Brook is making a strong case for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
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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.

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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.

Giannis shows off his passing skills by registering a career-high 16 assists vs. San Antonio


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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.