:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47289058/usa-today-8830581.0.jpg)
The New York Knicks shocked many casual observers this summer when they handed a four-year, $54 million contract to center Robin Lopez, a guy who has never put up eye-catching numbers in the NBA. But we here at P&T knew better -- this guy is not only the defensive anchor the team has been missing since prime Tyson Chandler, he is a natural showman. He certainly showed as much during Media Day.
Here's a link to his interview. Warning: dude' sounds like a second-rate voice actor auditioning for the role of Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Knicks fans will certainly appreciate his lust for defense, as well as his hatred for his brother, Brook:
Robin Lopez: "Defense is just passion a lot of times." Says he's hoping his work ethic on that end will spread to his teammates.
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) September 28, 2015
Robin Lopez: "The only downside of coming here is that I'm gonna have to see my brother more."
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) September 28, 2015
Trust me, Robin: nobody wants to see your brother more.
Now that the team has moved on to training camp, Lopez has taken it upon himself to get fired up for workouts.
Early Morning weight room playlist: Ritchie Valens, Dion & the Belmonts & Frankie Valli. #WestPoint should be called #OnPoint
— Robin Lopez (@rolopez42) September 29, 2015
Most people forget to put the 't' in Ritchie Valens, but not our man Robin. That must be the kind of stuff they teach you at Stanford. But I have a question for you, Robin: Are you listening to the Ritchie Valens version of "La Bamba" or the Los Lobos version from the 1987 film La Bamba (respect Lou Diamond Phillips!) that most people now mistakenly believe is the original? You're in the big city now, kid -- New Yorkers won't tolerate a fugazi Ritchie Valens fan.
Robin Lopez has arrived, y'all...ya arriba, ya arriba.