Milwaukee Bucks: Ranking Brook Lopez among NBA’s best shot-blockers

Brook Lopez has been holding down the paint for the Milwaukee Bucks this season, but how does he compare to the rest of the league’s best shot-blockers?

As the Milwaukee Bucks have rebuilt much of their defense around Brook Lopez in the past two seasons, not only has the team thrived in that department, but Lopez has emerged as one of the league’s most productive interior defenders too.

Central to that has been his outstanding performance as a shot-blocker.

More from Bucks News

• Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
• Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
• Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
• Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
• New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited

Lopez is currently ranked second in the NBA in blocks per game, with an average of 2.4, and that comes off the back of finishing fourth in that same category just a year ago.

It hasn’t always been the central element of Brook’s identity as a player, but in a scheme that suits him perfectly, he’s made major strides forward and can now make a very valid claim to being one of the NBA’s true top-tier interior defenders.

Even beyond that, Lopez’s rejections over the past two seasons would seem to place him right around the top-3 shot blockers currently at work in the NBA.

If that’s the case, though, who are the other players in that same range, vying with the veteran for the title of the league’s best shot-blockers?

Let’s take a closer look at five players who are also very much in the mix in that discussion.