Milwaukee Bucks: 3 stats that show why Brook Lopez deserves Defensive Player of the Year

Milwaukee Bucks: 3 stats why Brook Lopez deserves Defensive Player of the Year – 19.4

Over the last two seasons, no player has contested more shots on a nightly basis than Lopez. This year, the number of total contested shots that Lopez has averaged is 19.4, per NBA.com’s hustle stats.

It should be known that the number can be noisy and context is certainly important when sharing such statistics. The reason why the Stanford product has been the league’s standard bearer in this regard is very much driven by the schematics of the Bucks’ defensive principles and style.

Lopez has served as the Bucks’ esteemed paint protector and through the thankless work of the Bucks’ tenacious perimeter defenders, Lopez is often in good position to clean up and alter shots, even well beyond the rim.

And even for someone who’s often been viewed as a lumbering seven-footer, the rare times in which Lopez has been forced to switch and defend mismatches out or near the perimeter have been a victory in favor of Lopez and the Bucks more often than not.

The bulking presence that Lopez is and has been throughout his career certainly helps him in being able to alter shots at the volume he has while in Milwaukee. But it speaks to the growth Lopez has made in fashioning himself as such a high-level defender.