Fresh off his admission that he’d join House Hufflepuff if he were a Harry Potter character, Brook Lopez shared much of his inner-nerdom, and a heck of a lot more, in a Q&A with the New York Post’s Steve Serby.
To no one’s surprise, Brook cited Batman as the comic book character he “would see [him]self as,” though he would later mention Batman’s penchant for cheating as an admirable character trait (a characteristic more often ascribed to fellow frontcourt mate, Kevin Garnett).
Aside from questions on his comic collection, Lopez shared his goals and ambitions for the year: to win and “be a pillar on the defensive end.” He also addressed a common (if unfair) criticism on his style of play: “I don’t think I’m soft. I don’t think my teammates think I’m soft. I don’t know where that comes from, but … whatever.”
On Coach Hollins’ motivation style:
He really gets into you. He lets you know when you’re doing something wrong, and he’s honest, so you have to respect him for that. And he gets guys going. He’s not pulling any punches. That’s good.
Though the most interesting observations from Lopez described his aforementioned teammate who can match Hollins in intensity, Kevin Garnett. He cited Kevin Garnett as a basketball idol while growing up, but rarely discussed the admiration in the locker room since it made KG “feel old.
Lopez let us know that KG promised to take care of the trash talking, and continued about what it’s like to be his teammate. KG is “one of those guys you absolutely want to have him on your team rather than playing against him.” Lopez added:
[KG] always got a player’s back, he’s always talking to you, finding ways to make you better, picking you up when you’re down. When you’re in the practice facility or in the gym, and you really don’t feel like working, you see that guy still going 20 years in at whatever age, 39, 40 he’s at right now — in the weight room, getting reps in, on the court, sweating, getting shots up, running … You can’t help but work yourself.
Garnett sounds nothing like Brook’s twin brother Robin, who “is an idiot” and “a complete moron,” according to Lopez, but he’s got nothing but kind superlatives for the single mother who raised him and his idiot brother.
