Living up to his self-proclaimed villain status in the NBA, Dillon Brooks of the Phoenix Suns took a shot at LeBron James recently. Brooks has been in the headlines over the past two weeks due to his injury and arrest.
There weren’t a lot of expectations for Brooks upon his arrival in Phoenix as part of the Kevin Durant trade last summer. But the 30-year-old veteran was exactly what the Suns needed, providing leadership and toughness.
Brooks also became a reliable scoring option for the Suns under first-year coach Jordan Ott. He’s having the best season of his career, averaging 20.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He’s shooting 44.0% from the field, 34.3% from 3-point range and 85.6% from the charity stripe.
There’s no love lost between Brooks and James, dating back to when the Oregon product was a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. He has been “poking the bear” for the past few years, though James has had the last laugh most of the time.
In an appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast with Gillie Da King and Wallo267, Brooks took a shot at James. He was shown a list of the current Top 50 NBA players made by Complex, which had him at No. 48.
Brooks disagreed with his position and had some words to say about James, as well as players ahead of him.
“Yeah, he’s not having a better year than me,” Brooks said.
The Suns forward also called Austin Reaves a “foul baiter.” He described Keyonte George as “soft” and called Julius Randle one of the biggest complainers in the league. He can’t even see Joel Embiid being better than him this season due to injuries.
“No, he’s too hurt you can probably go to sleep for a straight week, and he’s probably hurt again.”
Brooks was being honest and blunt, but he loves other players’ games, such as those of former teammates Desmond Bane and Amen Thompson. He also praised Karl-Anthony Towns, Michael Porter Jr., Kon Knueppel, Trey Murphy III and Brandon Ingram.
Brooks Recovering From Injury, Arrested on Friday
On February 21, against the Orlando Magic, Brooks suffered a broken left hand. He suffered the injury after getting hit by Wendell Carter Jr. during a play in the first quarter.
The Suns announced a day later that Brooks will likely be out for four to six weeks, so he can return as early as the end of March. Amid his recovery from the injury, Brooks was arrested on Friday in Scottsdale, Arizona.
ESPN’s Michael C. Wright reported that Brooks’ vehicle was pulled over during a traffic stop around 1 a.m. He passed a breathalyzer test, but he was brought in due to a DUI arrest on a marijuana-related issue. He was booked and released two and a half hours later.
However, Damon Allred of Arizona Sports reported that the Suns forward wasn’t charged with anything. He would later apologize to his teammates for what happened. Collin Gillespie told reporters after their win on Friday that they have Brooks’ back no matter what.
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