Robin Lopez wants to be the NBA’s new face of innovation

Pictured above: Robin Lopez demonstrating where he wants the next pass thrown.

It’s difficult to stand out when you’re in the NBA. That’s doubly true when you have an identical twin who is also NBA-ing. Nick and Darren Collison have spoken about this time and time again; it’s a big horrible pain when you can’t be told apart.

Robin Lopez knows this struggle. He’s over there in the land of three alphas trying his best to be a quality gamma. He’s the conjunction in a sentence without spaces. If his name is mentioned in conversation about the Bulls, it’s usually just in a sentence or two. “Robin Lopez is playing well” is said, and then thoughts on Rondo’s attitude or Wade’s age or Butler’s buttressing overwhelm. He’s not an afterthought, but he’s a passing thought. Like a tumbleweed through a shotgun factory.

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You know where’s a bad place for a shotgun to hit you? The face. Historically, one would say the same for basketballs. And angry carom during shootaround striking an unprepared shagger in the chin might be hilarious, but it’s also painful for the chin in question. Not good, right?

No. Not good. Great, in fact.

What better way to stand out from the crowd than being smacked in the face with a thing? Think of all the careers Antonio Inoki blessed that very way. Maybe Robin Lopez is his own Inoki. We could call him Robinoki. Whoa!

Inoki was also a bit of a weirdo, but he brought change, and growth, and fame. This might be how Robin distinguishes himself, not just from Brook but from the rest of the NBA.

Lopez was not credited for the assist despite insistence, but that’s how innovation grows. The true creators often don’t get credit in their time. For example, Michael Carter-Williams actually through the pass, but who cares?