Milwaukee Bucks: Robin Lopez’s overlooked season deserves praise

Robin Lopez has upped his game for the Milwaukee Bucks all season despite taking on an unfamiliar role, which has been critical to their success.

Very rarely does it happen that a player goes through such a monumental change in their play-style after a decade in the league, which is precisely what happened to Robin Lopez this season. Signing with the Milwaukee Bucks last offseason as a hot-headed journeyman center, it was interesting to think about what kind of role the team would use him in.

A starter for most of his career, Robin played backup to his brother Brook Lopez for most of the season, and it worked out phenomenally. Having a starting-caliber center come off the bench is a rare occurrence in today’s NBA, but having Robin embrace this role helped the team tremendously.

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Although coming off the bench decreased his numbers compared to recent years, Lopez still had a fantastic season for Milwaukee by all means. The big man averaged 5.5 points on 50.2 percent field goal shooting, and a surprising 34.4 percent 3-point shooting, but his impact went far beyond the stat sheet.

Lopez added the 3-point shot to his offensive arsenal this season and embraced Milwaukee’s “let it fly” mentality. For the first nine seasons of his NBA career, Robin went without connecting on a single 3-pointer as the league was a much different era. In the next two seasons before coming to Milwaukee, the big man did start shooting the long ball more frequently, but only totaled 11-of-45 on 3-pointers in that span.

In 60 games with the Bucks this season, Lopez showcased his improved 3-point shooting as he connected on 33-of-96 shots from behind the arc as he turned some heads in the process. That spacing created by Lopez opened the floor up significantly, and although it might not seem so critical, it proved to be a legitimate boost offensively.

Defensively, Robin has been just as good, if not better. As a team, the Milwaukee Bucks held the league’s best defensive rating at 101.6, far ahead of the second-best. Although that feat did not solely revolve around Robin’s play, his overall presence down low served as a significant contribution to their success. His defensive stats from this season may not show it, but Lopez proved to be a legitimate threat on that end of the floor.

Another aspect of Robin’s that has helped Milwaukee is his seemingly shifted attitude since he came aboard. As previously stated, Lopez is not one to hide his emotions. In his 12 year career, the 32-year-old has racked up a total 51 technical fouls, with only one of those coming this season. After 33 of them came in four seasons before signing with the Bucks, many believed this would be an issue when the team landed him. However, Robin has kept a cool head (minus a minor run-in with Jarrett Culver), and it has been a welcome surprise for this team.

Overall, the addition of Robin Lopez on the veteran minimum this offseason proved to be a genuine steal for the Milwaukee Bucks. The big man filled the void at the backup center position that the team desperately needed, and his stellar play off the bench has been fantastic on both ends of the floor. Because of the team’s dominant success, Lopez’s contributions got overlooked playing next to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, among others. However, he deserves praise for what he has brought to the table.

Hopefully, Robin can pick up where he left off when the NBA restarts this month as he and the league-best Milwaukee Bucks reignite their quest for a title.