Brook Lopez collected his ring and played 28 minutes opening night, then has not set foot on the court again for the Bucks due to back issues.
Those issues were not improving, so on Thursday Lopez underwent back surgery, the team announced.
Lopez is out indefinitely, although coach Mike Budenholzer left open the possibility he could return this season or for the playoffs.
Full quote from Budenholzer: "We’re not gonna put a timeline on it but we’re also not gonna say he’s not gonna play this season. We feel good about the surgery today and he'll begin his rehab and do everything he can to put himself in a position to play for us." https://t.co/tbqZcdX7Qj
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) December 2, 2021
Lopez averaged 12.3 points and five rebounds a game for the Bucks last season, but more importantly, he anchored their drop-back defense. Without him this season it’s been a lot of Bobby Portis, but the bigger change has been Giannis Antetokounmpo playing 62% of his minutes at center.
Expect the Bucks to go out on the market and look for another center now.
