Brook Lopez welcomes twin brother Robin to New York with proper roast
The sibling rivalry between Brook and Robin Lopez goes back to birth, when the latter arrived in this world a minute later than his twin brother, so it should come as no surprise that the elder Lopez took every opportunity to twist the knife when he was reintroduced as a wealthier member of the Nets.
Brook signed a three-year max contract in excess of $60 million to stay in Brooklyn — more money in fewer years than the deal Robin agreed to with the New York Knicks — and based purely on the former’s comments in a reintroductory press conference, he reminds his little brother of those facts regularly.
“As far as Robin’s concerned, he’ll always be the back end of Batman,” Brook told the media in attendance on Thursday, according to the New York Daily News. “That sums that up pretty much.”
But the exchange between Brook and WFAN’s Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts was even more priceless.
Q. Did you help recruit your brother to the Knicks?
A. I did help recruit my brother to the Knicks, but as a non-Knicks supporter I helped recruit him there. I think he’s going to be a detriment to them, absolutely.
Q. You have always gotten the better of him in head to head matchups, so maybe that’s another reason, right?
A. Right, absolutely. I’m kind of the Robin Lopez Kryptonite, and there’s a lot of Robin Lopez Kryptonite in the world.
Q. Will you guys consider living together here in New York City?
A. I’ve been telling a few people I’m going to, first off, charge him rent definitely. I’m going to kind of go the Harry Potter route, like the Dursleys kept Harry Potter under the staircase in the cupboard. Something like that.
[…]
Q. Is there anything that Robin Lopez does better than you?
A. He loses better than I do. I know that. That came to me right away.
Q. I’m sure that you guys growing up had many 1-on-1 battles in the backyard.
A. Ours was in the front yard in the driveway.
Q. Did you ever lose?
A. I never lost the ones we actually finished, because a lot of the times it ended in us fighting or someone running inside to get mom and start whining.
Q. How come you have a so much better offensive game than him?
A. I think it was just from playing together. The one thing he always loved doing is blocking shots. He loved doing that. He loved bringing energy to the team. And I think we just kind of fell into those roles playing beside each other.
That last bit is actually some sound commentary on why Brook commanded more than Robin on the free agent market — and how the NBA as a whole values offense over defense financially — but everything else in that interview is a glimpse of all the glory that is to come with the Lopez brothers in New York.
For what it’s worth, Brook and Robin have long traded jabs publicly, and this most recent ribbing was likely retaliation for the latter’s commentary about his older brother’s two straight late-season Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors during Brooklyn’s push for the final playoff spot this past April.
“It’s amazing how far you can go with a crappy center,” Robin told reporters three months ago, according to Nets Daily. “But I guess he fooled the NBA for a couple weeks, at least.”
It’s all in good fun, though — we think. Actually, it’s probably just a ploy to get their television cartoon series concept off the ground. With the twins in the same city now, a reality show might be the way to go.
“I think we should do that,” added Brook, per ESPN.com. “Bravo [network] maybe?” Yes, please.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
