Brook Lopez has third surgery on right foot

Brook Lopez underwent surgery to replace a screw that had been inserted in his surgically repaired right foot and will resume basketball-related activities in August, the Brooklyn Nets announced today. It is the third surgery on Lopez’s foot in the past two years.

During a postseason physical, team doctors found that the screw had bent and needed replacement.

Lopez suffered a stress fracture to the fifth metatarsal of his right foot on December 22, 2011, which required a screw. He missed all but five games of the 2011-12 season because of the injury, requiring surgery a second time at the end of the season. After the recovery time, Lopez had the best season of his career in 2012-13, averaging 19.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and getting selected to his first NBA All-Star Team.

My optimistic take: The screw had to have bent sometime near the end of the season or during postseason play, when Lopez played about as strongly as he has all season. During the team’s playoff series against the Chicago Bulls, Lopez averaged 22.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game, protecting the paint with vigor and getting to the line over six times per game. If that’s how he plays with a bent screw in his foot, his development hasn’t peaked yet.

My pessimistic take: Here we go again.

For more information on Brook Lopez’s metatarsal injury and recovery, check out our breakdown below.

So What Is A Metatarsal, Anyway?