From the moment the Milwaukee Bucks arrived at Walt Disney World for the NBA's restart in Orlando, Fla., Robin Lopez has been his typically humorous self on social media.
The former Bulls center and current Bucks man in the middle, along with twin brother Brook, has never disguised his love for all things Disney. Brook owns a house on the property. And the brothers have visited Disney properties both stateside and overseas for years.
But little did Robin know when he visited the resort over All-Star weekend that he'd be back, not only on the park's grounds, but playing for the Eastern Conference favorites with a title at stake.
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"So far, it's very much been surreal," Lopez said on a Zoom media session Sunday. "I never quite thought these two worlds would collide in the way that they have. I think it's going to be pretty interesting going forward."
Lopez expressed his appreciation to NBA and Disney officials for ensuring the so-called bubble is safe for competition, and relished the opportunity to be practicing with his close-knit teammates again. At all his NBA stops, including with the Bulls, Lopez has cemented his status in the locker room as a favorite teammate of many.
"I'm just enjoying myself," Lopez said. "It's nice to be back on the floor."
Lopez couldn't estimate how many visits he has paid to the property, though he did reveal he has stayed at the resort where the Bucks are located before. Calling himself "sartorially challenged," Lopez said he has a nice collection of Disney-related T-shirts with images and slogans that he plans to wear to and from practices and games.
Why do we even need those Fire TV sticks @nba? pic.twitter.com/QsOceYAzY0
— Robin Lopez (@rolopez42) July 10, 2020
Lopez has also engaged in a long-running, tongue-in-cheek feud with NBA mascots over his 12-year career. Along those lines, he jokingly tweeted in late April that NBA mascots not being allowed in the bubble would be fine because - well, duh - Disney characters would be present.
Asked how his progress in securing these alternative mascots for games was going, Lopez took the bait.
"I don't want to use the word alternatives. 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 they're merely playing in the same ballpark as NBA mascots," Lopez said, the sarcasm dripping. "There's a pyramid to this, you know with the NBA mascots, MLB mascots, NFL mascots are all the way down (low).
"It would be a blessing to have the Disney characters around our game, around our sporting events. Whatever the children do these days, please tag the mascots in that statement."
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Former Bull Robin Lopez loving life as a Milwaukee Buck in Disney World originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
