Bucks' center Brook Lopez wins NBA Cares award; $10K donated to Milwaukee Public Library Foundation

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez received the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for March, recognizing his commitment to supporting youth literacy. The NBA will donate $10,000 to the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation in honor of Lopez's efforts.

The announcement came in a press release issued on Wednesday, April 19.

Since joining the Bucks in 2018, Lopez has donated around $175,000 for books and literacy initiatives in Milwaukee. He has been particularly active in March, which is National Reading Month. Lopez's "Blocks for Books" program donates $500 to Next Door for every block he recorded during the regular season, supporting early childhood literacy.

This season, his league-leading and career-high 193 blocks resulted in a $96,500 donation to Next Door.

Lopez also partnered with Scholastic Book Fair to bring book fairs to five Title 1 Milwaukee Public Schools, enabling each student to select and keep five books, totaling nearly 10,000 books for over 2,000 students.

"Reading is a personal passion of mine," said Lopez. "I have remained committed to supporting youth literacy initiatives because I know firsthand how important this skill is."

Lopez will be recognized in an on-court ceremony before Game 2 of the Bucks playoff game against the Miami Heat at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night.