Brook Lopez 2008 NBA Draft Prospect

Brook Lopez has become a hot prospect in his second year of college basketball. While he’s been viewed as a potential lottery pick for a while now, Lopez is now creeping up into the top five and maybe even into the top three.

NBA teams are salivating over his combination of skill, size and athleticism. At 7-feet and 260 pounds, Lopez has the size to be a true center in the NBA. And while he’s not a great athlete, he’s a good athlete for his size. He still needs to become more fluid athletically but for a 19-year-old seven-footer, he moves rather well.

At Stanford, Lopez is averaging around 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 30 minutes of action per night. His numbers have jumped substantially from when he was a freshman and he’d likely continue to grow if he opts to come back to school for his junior season. However, it’s unlikely that Lopez will return for his junior season, especially considering he was deemed “academically ineligible” for a portion of this season.

How Lopez performs during March Madness will heavily influence his stock. If he dominates, he could solidify his position among the top three to five picks. If he comes back down to earth, he may fall toward the ten to twelve range.

Here is a video of Brook Lopez and his brother and teammate Robin Lopez: