Farewell Brook, unsung hero of the Nets.
The highlight of the 2016-17 season for Nets fans was one player: Brook Lopez. Brook, drafted in 2008, surpassed Buck Williams to become the Nets all-time leading scorer totaling at 10,444 after this year. Before this season, Brooke had only made 3 3-point baskets in his entire NBA career. This last season, Brook ranked just below Dirk Nowitzki for most 3-point baskets made in a season by a big man. To see him sinking baskets behind the arc with the best of them gave a depressed fan base hope.
Taken 10th in the 2008 draft by the Nets, Brook has remained with the franchise through 9 different coaches, management woes, and arena changes. He’s been an immovable force through coaching and player nightmares. In 2013, mid way through his time with the Nets, Brook found himself on a team that had given Billy King the reigns to trade their future for old talent with almost no return. Years after, as the shockwave of that decision continued to push the Nets deeper into the dark abyss of a failed franchise, Brooke was still there. Around the time they got rid of King & Hollins, it felt as though the only good left for fans was an awesome arena, and Brook.
And here we are today. The fans have more to look forward to than before, the beginnings of a rebuild, solid management and coaching, and players that look forward to developing the team into something great.
Atkinson empowered Brook, making him a more versatile player and above all, a leader. Brook has carried the fans through the darkest of times, holding the team up on his broad shoulders, mentoring the younger players and bringing a hard work ethic that made watching the Nets fun again. There was a palpable shift at the beginning of this season - one that made it great to cheer for our 20-62 team. The team showed pride and heart, and I attribute a lot of that to Brook.
There was the breakout day in November where Brook hit 4 3-pointers, breaking his career total of 3s made. There was his 36 points (6 3s) and 8 blocks. There was the time he became the franchise leader in blocked shots (863). There’s the Star Wars Book bobblehead, and the time he did a Forever 21 free signing for 2 hours, even though only 20 people showed up. And there was that time Brook hit the buzzer beater to clinch a win against the Pistons, and his teammates nearly choked him out in their pure ecstasy. And March - April 2016, under the leadership of Brook, the Nets posted 11 wins, more than the rest of the entire season wins.
At the end of all this, Brook was the Nets only real asset, and Marks worked to get the most for him that he could. In envisioning a future for the Nets, we lost our rock.
Brook had once said, “When people look back on me and my career, I’d like them to say I was one of the people who helped start something big in Brooklyn. Started a legacy where players want to come and play.” It’s undeniable that we’ll look back on Brook’s time as a Net fondly, and remember how he bettered a scrappy team and players that were just getting by.
We will miss our longest tenured player. I’m hanging onto my jersey, come back in a year old friend.
