Los Angeles Lakers: 2017-18 player grades for Brook Lopez

After coming over to the Los Angeles Lakers in an offseason trade, Brook Lopez underwent his worst season of his 10-year career.

Coming into the 2017-18 NBA regular season, Brook Lopez figured to be the focal point of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ offense on a young team. He was by far their most experienced player in their rotation and averaged 18.9 points per game in his first nine seasons.

Fast forward to the end of the season, and the unrestricted free agent faces an intriguing offseason after averaging career lows across the board. Lopez averaged just 13.0 points on 10.7 field goal attempts per game (his lowest shot total since his rookie season), along with 4.0 rebounds in only 23.4 minutes per game.

The frustration in playing time was scarcely shown on the court or in the public venue, but it had to bother him despite understanding the team is planning for the future and needed to give its young players ample amounts of playing time. The stylistic concerns about how the game is moving away from slow-footed big men played some role, but there is a role for Lopez in the NBA in my opinion.

Let’s take a look back at the center’s first, and perhaps lone season playing in the purple and gold by starting with his strengths.