He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal alongside his twin brother Brook Lopez.

[1][2][3] He attended San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno, California, where he was named a McDonald's All-American in 2006.

"[8] Lopez joined a Suns team already featuring one of the all-time great centers in Shaquille O'Neal, and thus was not expected to get many minutes during his rookie season.

He got the first start of his career on November 7, 2008, against the Chicago Bulls in place of the injured O'Neal; he played 30 minutes, scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 2 blocks.

At the end of the season, Shaq was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, making Lopez the assumed starting center.

During the end of the season, however, Lopez was injured, and was replaced by Jarron Collins until the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, where the Suns eventually lost, 4 games to 2.

On July 27, 2012, the New Orleans Hornets acquired Lopez and Hakim Warrick in a three-team sign-and-trade deal involving the Minnesota Timberwolves, which sent Brad Miller, Wesley Johnson and Jerome Dyson to the Suns.

[11] It was during this time that Lopez would produce his best results yet, starting for every game of the season and gaining new career highs in almost every field in the process.

He was honored with the Maurice Lucas Award in March 2014 for his efforts in his "Read Big" literacy campaign with Portland Public Schools.

[18] On June 22, 2016, Lopez was traded, along with José Calderón and Jerian Grant, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round draft pick.

[20] On July 12, 2019, Lopez signed with the Milwaukee Bucks, putting him on the same NBA team as his twin brother.

[29] Lopez is an avid comic book enthusiast and also participated in theater productions at Stanford in California.