Tag: Robin Lopez

Robin Lopez to give Magic rookies a highly unique hazing this year

Magic veteran Robin Lopez has developed a highly unique plan to welcome Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner to the league.

The transition to the NBA can be a bit difficult for rookie players. They are tasked with learning a completely new system while also dealing with better competition against stronger players.

They are also subjected to a bit of rookie hazing by their veteran teammates.

Typical rookie responsibilities include taking care of expensive checks at restaurants, picking up food for plane rides and other related tasks. They also may find that their cars have been filled with popcorn at some point in the season.

Orlando Magic rookies Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner may have a different experience this year.

That’s because newly-signed veteran Robin Lopez has developed a highly unique plan to welcome Suggs and Wagner to the league. He detailed his plan this week on Twitter, which includes several publications and a magazine club.

Lopez said Suggs and Wagner look to be embracing the idea a little bit.

While they appear to be warming up to it, Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton each expressed their excitement to no longer be considered rookies. Lopez is going to try to force them into participating anyway.

“The second-year guys haven’t (embraced it),” Lopez said on Thursday. “What’s the rule, you have to play 82 games before (you’re no longer considered a rookie)? R.J. and Cole were saying, ‘I’m glad I’m not a rookie anymore.’ I’m going to have to send them to the airport (to get the magazines) because that’s the only place you can get print media these days.”

Lopez is regarded as one of the most entertaining players in the NBA from his infamous spats with mascots to his personality off of the court. Of course, he has also established himself as one of the most productive centers over his time in the league.

The 13-year veteran signed with the Magic over the offseason and cannot wait to get started with his new teammates. He has spent the past few weeks practicing with the team ahead of training camp and believes the team has plenty of talent to make noise this season.

With Lopez in the mix, the Magic have brought plenty of energy and enthusiasm to the first few days of training camp and appear to have developed strong chemistry with each other.

We’ll see if that will continue once the magazine club kicks off.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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The slowest players in the league, according to NBA 2K22

Check out the slowest players in the league, according to NBA 2K22.

Just as interesting as it is to see who the fastest players in every edition of NBA 2K is, it might be even more fun to find out who the game franchise ranks as the slowest players in the NBA every year.

NBA 2K22 won’t shock you with any of these players, as this ranking is littered with plodding 7-footers like Tacko Fall, Brook Lopez and Boban Marjanovic, but the list is quite interesting and entertaining nonetheless.

Below, check out the slowest players in the league, according to NBA 2K22.

Robin Lopez sees a lot of potential with young Magic roster

Lopez hasn’t been in Orlando very long but the 13-year veteran can already see some of the potential within the roster.

When the Orlando Magic signed Robin Lopez to a one-year, $5 million contract, the expectation was the 13-year veteran could help mentor the younger players in the locker room and provide leadership throughout the season.

The role outlined by the Magic is one Lopez is perfectly fine with.

Orlando enters the 2021-22 season as the third-youngest team in the NBA with plenty of inexperience on the roster. Lopez, 33, will be the oldest player on the team this season as the roster features 10 players younger than 23 years old.

Along with Lopez, the Magic will also be leaning on newly-signed guard E’Twaun Moore (32), Terrence Ross (30) and Gary Harris (26) as the veterans on the roster.

“I’ve embraced being the vet on a few teams now and that is something I’m really looking forward to here,” Lopez said on Wednesday. “I’m going to do what I can. I think once the ball is tipped off, and we see everybody in action, that is going to help everybody out a lot more. It is going to help me have an idea of what people’s strengths are.

“I like to lead by example, I will be verbal when I have to but whatever the situation calls for.”

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The Magic have an intriguing young core of players, including Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton and Jalen Suggs, that the team decided to build around. The front office holds them in high regard and believes they can lead the Magic to the next level.

The organization has often praised those players because of their ability on the court, high character and work ethic. From the outside looking in, Lopez can see that the players on the roster have been willing to put in the work to be successful.

“We got a lot of skilled young guys, a lot of potential,” Lopez said. “What I like in them is they put in the work in the gym, and that’s necessary. I think everybody is going to have to hold each other accountable. They’re going to have to be honest and they’re going to have to have each other’s backs.”

With the roster now in place, the Magic appear to be ready for the season. It will feature plenty of young players, with a few savvy veterans, and the organization is hoping the group can take a step forward this season on and off of the court.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Sixers 2008 re-draft: drafting Robin Lopez rather than Mo Speights

In a 2008 re-draft, the Philadelphia 76ers would select Robin Lopez rather than Mo Speights.

We continue our look back at past NBA re-drafts, and for the Philadelphia 76ers, see if there are any differences for the Sixers with their slotted pick. This edition takes us back to 2008 when Philadelphia held the 16th pick after a surprising run to the playoffs.

The Sixers had a bit of 180 in terms of their offseason plans. Philadelphia was not expecting to make the playoffs in 2008 after trading franchise icon Allen Iverson to the Denver Nuggets in the season before. So, instead of a lottery pick, they had to settle for a mid-round selection and they took Marreese Speights from Florida who had a solid career, but nothing spectacular.

A re-draft put out by Bleacher Report has the Sixers selecting Standford big man Robin Lopez at 16.

Though his career average of 5.1 rebounds per game underwhelms for a center, Lopez’s teams have almost always done better defensive boardwork with him on the floor. There aren’t many better box-out technicians, and Lopez extends that team-first approach to sound positional defense in the lane.

Though not a scorer by trade, Lopez’s funky hook shot gives his game character. And his ongoing feud with mascots across the league offers a glimpse of a fun-loving side you wouldn’t expect from a grind-it-out worker who’s been an in-demand starter and backup big for a dozen years.

Lopez has had a really solid career. He was a starter in the Western Conference Finals for the Phoenix Suns in his second season and he has been a consistent starter for the large majority of his career. He now backs up his brother, Brook, for the Milwaukee Bucks. He would have been a better fit for those Sixers teams, but they liked Samuel Dalembert too much at the time.

As for Speights, he averaged 7.2 points and 3.7 rebounds during his time with the Sixers and he won a ring with the Golden State Warriors in 2015 where he had the nickname “Mo Buckets”. He was better off as a stretch 4 when he figured that out later in his career. [lawrence-related id=29726,29720,29711]

Bucks’ Robin Lopez chases down Jarrett Culver after getting posterized

This highlight reel dunk nearly led to a fight in Wednesday’s Timberwolves-Bucks game.

Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Jarrett Culver delivered the best dunk of the New Year on Wednesday over 7-foot-0 Bucks big man Robin Lopez, but what happened after the play was just as interesting. With the Timberwolves down four points with just under 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Culver drove around a screen at the top of the three-point arc and elevated over Lopez, throwing down a colossal one-handed jam as Lopez tried to recover and block the shot.

When Culver landed, he flexed and yelled in Lopez’s direction, which earned him a technical foul on the play. Lopez was irate, and he chased Culver down the court to confront him after the play.

Culver ran away when he saw Lopez coming, but Lopez escaped punishment despite shoving one of Culver’s teammates aside while trying to get to him. The Bucks went on to win the game, 106-104, but Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said he loved Culver’s play, even despite the costly technical.

“Love it. Just love it. Love it. That’s…. that’s… I love it.”

Well said, coach.

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