Brook Lopez (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez won the NBA's Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for the 2022-23 season.
According to the team, Lopez was recognized for his continued commitment to supporting youth literacy in Milwaukee. Throughout this season, he contributed roughly $235,000 for books and funding in support of literacy initiatives in the city.
"Whether at home, in the locker room or on the road, reading has always played a significant role in my life," Lopez said in a news release. "I want to ensure future generations are able to develop this skill too and fall in love with reading just as I have, especially kids in economically disadvantaged schools and communities."
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As part of Lopez’s "Blocks for Books" program, the team said Lopez donates $500 to Next Door for every block he records during the regular season in support of early childhood literacy. This season, he donated $96,000 as part of the program. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, Lopez partnered with Scholastic Book Fair to bring book fairs to five Milwaukee Public Schools that had never had one.
A news release said, within MPS, only 15% of fourth- and eighth-grade students are proficient or above in reading. Statewide, only 39% percent of eighth-grade students are proficient or above in reading.
Brook Lopez wins NBAs Bob Lanier Community Assist Award (Courtesy: Milwaukee Bucks)
The Bob Lanier Community Assist Award honors one player’s sustained efforts and difference-making work within their community over the course of the season. Lopez was selected as this season's winner by an NBA executive panel and 12-day fan vote among a pool of six other monthly Community Assist Award winners and three additional nominees selected by the NBA.