J-Speaks: Nets' New All-Time Scoring Leader

For nearly three decades, Charles Linwood “Buck” Williams has been the now Brooklyn Nets all-time leading scorer with 10,440 points. He is also the franchise’s all-time leader in minutes (23,100) and total rebounds (7,576). On Monday night, the Nets had a new all-time scoring leader and provided a bright spot in what has been a very rough season and a decade of unfulfilled potential.

With 25 points on 10 for 21 shooting in a 114-105 setback at the playoff bound Boston Celtics (52-29), eight-year veteran center Brook Lopez became the all-time leading scorer in Nets’ franchise 10,444 points, passing Williams.

It was a positive highlight in what has been otherwise a very difficult season for the league worst Nets (20-61), who does not own their own first-round pick in this or next June’s draft.

Lopez scored points No. 10,442 for Lopez thanks to a turnaround, fadeaway jumper over Celtics’ center Al Horford that bounced in.

He set the record in 73 fewer games contest and Lopez has scored more points in a Nets uniform than some of the most notable players in franchise history like current All-Star Memphis Grizzlies forward/guard Vince Carter; former Net and now Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd and current Cleveland Cavaliers’ forward Richard Jefferson, who led the then New Jersey Nets to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.

“I really didn’t think about the record until I came down today,” Williams said to Yankees Sports and Entertainment Network (YES) Nets’ sideline reporter Sarah Kustok before the Nets 107-106 win in their home finale versus the Chicago Bulls on Saturday afternoon.

“I was here for a long time, with some great teammates and so fortunate to be in position to have a long career and I see the same similarities with Brook. I mean he’s been around for a while. Had a very consistent career and just kind of happy he’s in a position to break it.”

Brook had 13 points on the night, which left him 22 points short of becoming the top all-time scorer in Nets history.

Another former Net in Albert King, the brother of Hall of Famer Bernard King, who played for both the Nets, when they were in New Jersey and New York Knicks jokingly said to Kustok that he wanted to do a Tanya Harding on Lopez to keep his current business partner’s record intact.

“I’m sure Brook is a great player, but Buck’s the best,” King said to Kustok about his former Nets’ teammate as well as his collegiate teammate at the University of Maryland.

Besides being the Nets’ new all-time leading scorer, Lopez, who was drafted No. 10 overall by the then New Jersey Nets in 2008 is also their all-time leader in total block shots with 972.

He also added another part to his offensive arsenal by becoming a three-point shooter. After making just three triples in his first seven seasons, Lopez has made 134 threes this season, and back on Feb. 15 in the Nets 129-125 setback versus the playoff bound Milwaukee Bucks (42-39), Lopez became the first player in NBA history to hit six three-point field goals and block eight shots in one game. Lopez had a season-high of 36 points and eight blocks going 12 for 20 from the field, including 6 for 10 from distance.

The career Lopez has had is remarkable when you consider that he has battled injuries during his career and had his name filed around the NBA in trade rumors the past couple of seasons, including this one.

In fact, two years ago, the talented center out of Stanford was nearly dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder for backup floor general Reggie Jackson, but the deal fell through at the last minute and Jackson was later dealt to the Detroit Pistons.

This season, Lopez’s name was linked to him being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans and the Indiana Pacers, but the Nets never pulled the trigger.

The longevity and consistency of Lopez has been a testament to his value both as a player and his work ethic to improve his game. That talent made it impossible to get anything of equal value in return.

More than anything else, Lopez’s professionalism has been a true asset to head coach Kenny Atkinson and the organization.

When you are trying to rebuild your team, you need a veteran presence and a face for the young players to see what a true NBA player looks like, practices like and plays like day-in and day-out.

That is what some of the Nets building blocks for the future like Sean Kilpatrick, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead have in their teammate in Lopez. That is what the organization has.

The hope now is that Lopez stays with the Brooklyn Nets as they try to rebuild themselves into a playoff team and hopefully it is during what is left of his prime years.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 4/8/17 5 p.m. contest Chicago Bulls versus Brooklyn Nets on YES with Ian Eagle, Donny Marshall and Sarah Kustok; 4/11/17 www.sbnation.com article, “Brook Lopez, the Nets’ All-Time Leading Scorer, Has Been the Best Part of the Franchise’s Fruitless Decade,” by Kristian Winfield;  www.nba.com/games/20170410/BKNBOS#/boxscore; www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/willibu01.html; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3448/brook-lopez; www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3448/brook-lopez and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Nets#Franchise_leaders and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_King.