Stanford Basketball Power Ranking: Top 15 NBA Cardinal Careers, #4

4. Robin Lopez, 7' C, 255 lbs. (2007- ). Stats: 8.2 ppg, 5 rpg, 0.5 apg, 1.2 bpg, 75.9% ft%, 53.2% fg%, 16.7 PER,0.15 WS/48, 21.2 mpg. The Lopez twins can both be unrestricted free agents this year, and are both probably rounding into their primes at age 27. There exists in the off-season rumor mill the tantalizing prospect of a reunion of the Cardinal's one-time beastly front court, perhaps in Portland if LaMarcus Aldridge does indeed leave for San Antonio. As a Cardinal fan that's gotta make the mouth salivate. That would probably be the smoothest transition possible in the Beaver State, although in the hyper-competitive Western Conference, even a healthy version of last year's Blazers with Brook Lopez subbed in for Aldridge would be a lower-seeded playoff team at best.

Robin has always been the better defender, Brook the better scorer. Yes, Brook's stellar offense (we'll get into that in a second) means that he will probably always command more money in free agency. But how many times has Brook been out of the first round in the NBA's junior varsity, the Eastern Conference? None. Robin was a key cog on these last two Portland Trailblazers teams, one of which stunned the Houston Rockets before getting walloped by the eventual-champion San Antonio Spurs in the next round. Robin has a simpler offensive game than Brook, sure, but, as his numbers attest, he is very efficient on that end of the floor too. His primary offense is off put-backs (he's one of the league's premiere offensive rebounders) and pick-and-rolls with Damian Lillard. He'll stay home on his man rather than roaming for blocks on defense. He's also a sick rim protector -- during the past regular season, he finished 10th in opponent completion percentage allowed there, with 48%. His Blazers finished 10th this season in defensive rating, at 103.7.

By the 2015 Playoffs, Portland was so banged-up it was a miracle they could take a game from the Memphis Grizzlies. You'd think a healthy Blazers squad could compete with anybody in the West, considering how great they looked when all their main contributors weren't wearing suits (Robin missed 33 games due to a fractured right hand). Robin has proven to be slightly more durable in the NBA -- he's played in 465 of 558 possible games, or 83.3%; Brook, plagued by serious injuries to his right foot and his left ankle that required surgeries, has suited up for 414 of those games, or 74.2%. Had Robin not gotten hurt this season, the difference in their attendances would have been way more pronounced, and I probably would have sided with him as my preferred Lopez.