By Dan Ferrara, NBA International

Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez came into this year with three 3-pointers in eight NBA seasons. He hit five alone in the first quarter during a win over the Knicks on March 12.

How does a player simply reinvent his style of play in his ninth NBA season? Lopez, who had always been a center with a nice shooting touch who could step out to the top of the key, suddenly took the big leap behind the arc and flourished for Brooklyn, becoming one of the best stretch 5s in the league.

But Lopez said that he began to work on his outside shooting in the offseason at the request of his coaches, led by new head coaching hire Kenny Atkinson.

“It was just something the coaching staff felt would help benefit the team,” Lopez said.

In a basketball age where traditional back to the basket centers are becoming obsolete, Lopez and the staff agreed that extending his range beyond the arc would be mutually beneficial for himself and the team. Lopez wound up leading the Nets in both 3s made and attempted, connecting on a career-high 134 during his 75 games played.

“I’ve always felt confident shooting the long twos, so it wasn’t really that much of a transition for me – it was just a lot of days in the gym, getting lots of reps in,” he said.

Lopez wasn’t kidding about his propensity for the long two-pointer. In 2015-16, he attempted 195 shots between 10-14 feet, which was 50 more than the next center, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis. Lopez took 58 shots between 20-24 feet that season compared to 183 this season, which ranked second to Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns.

His newfound love for the long ball took his career to new heights.

Lopez became the first Nets player in history to record 100 3s and 100 blocks in the same season, a rare feat that had been only done by nine players in NBA history prior to this year. Additionally, he set an NBA record during a February 15 game against the Bucks by becoming the first player to ever record eight blocks and make six 3-pointers in the same game.

His ability to stretch the floor on offense while still occupying the paint and protecting the rim effectively on the other end was impressive. So too was his efficiency from downtown, as it’s one thing to simply start taking more 3-pointers but another to actually make them at a decent clip. For comparison’s sake, Lopez hit one fewer 3-pointer than Hornets swingman Nicolas Batum, yet connected at a higher rate (34.6% to 33.3%).

It’s clear that Lopez is the Nets’ building block, a main staple on the roster since the team’s days in New Jersey. If they can surround him with players who can penetrate to the hoop, his outside shooting will help pull the opposing center out of the paint and create lanes to the basket. His new versatility on offense will be essential to the Nets’ rebuilding efforts as they try to build a contender and rack up wins.