Robin Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
Disney mascots better watch out for Milwaukee Bucks center Robin Lopez.
Robin Lopez loves Disney, but hates mascots, so this may be an issue in the NBA Orlando bubble.
Lopez and his twin brother Brook Lopez star in their own unique ways in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ frontcourt. Milwaukee is the presumptive favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference to play whoever wins the Battle of Los Angeles between the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Clippers in the NBA Finals. Lopez is also playing hoops in the most wonderful place in the world.
The Lopez Twins are enthusiasts of all things Disney. To them, it’s paradise on earth, as they have season passes at their theme parks. That’s 14 feet of incredible passion for Disney. Too bad they can’t break the bubble and have to play NBA games with mascots present.
Obviously, Robin Lopez had some opinions about his anthropomorphic foes and the possible Disney replacements:
“I don’t want to use the word ‘alternatives’ because that takes a group of characters, a cadre of characters that are the cream of the crop at what they do and that sullies their names by suggesting that they’re merely playing in the same ballpark as NBA mascots,” he said.
“You know there’s a pyramid to this with, you know, with NBA mascots, MLB mascots, NFL mascots are all the way down here. I mean everybody around here, it would be a blessing to have the Disney characters around our games, around our sporting events. Tag, whatever the children do these days, please tag the mascots in that statement, please.”
This sounds an awful lot like a Robin Lopez plan to ensnare Disney mascots.
If this was the inflated dinosaur of the Toronto Raptors, Lopez would have no problem treating the hardwood like the octagon. It’s a deep-rooted hate stemming from childhood and one we’ll never fully understand the animus coming from Lopez. We respect it and we relish every time a kerfuffle occurs between the 7-footer and a giant furry friend who refuses to speak at all costs.
Nobody wants to see Lopez duke it out with Goofy, Mickey Mouse or God forbid Simba, The Lion King himself, but it could happen if the greatest Disney characters of all time are allowed to come inside of that NBA Orlando bubble. We want to believe he loves those guys, but we’ve seen how he’s handled the many mascots he’s come across in NBA circles.
If it’s a trap by Lopez, this is the bubble content all of us human beings outside of it crave.