Suns’ Dillon Brooks shares the last time he lacked confidence
Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 32 points in just 28 minutes in the Phoenix Suns’ win against the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 13, 2025.
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks oozed confidence during his postgame interview Thursday night, Nov. 13, at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Rocking the massive ‘DB’ chain, cold black shades and hair tightly braided, Brooks was coming off a season-high 32-point performance in just 28 minutes of a 133-98 blitzing of the one-win Indiana Pacers before a sellout crowd of 17,071.
The brash Brooks has never appeared to lack confidence.
So maybe this was as good a time as any to ask when he last lacked it in a game.
Brooks not only answered the question, he took aim at Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman in the process.
“I would say probably the series against the (Los Angeles) Lakers (with Grizzlies in 2023),” Brooks said. “I couldn’t shoot the ball. The GM (Zach Kleiman) is telling me to only shoot six shots.”
.@KellanOlson: You remember the last time you weren’t confident on the basketball court?
Suns forward Dillon Brooks: “I would say probably the series against the Lakers (with Grizzlies in 2023). I couldn’t shoot the ball. The GM (Zach Kleiman) is telling me to only shoot 6… pic.twitter.com/Pv7YGbU6Ip
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 14, 2025
Averaging 12.8 field goal attempts, Brooks averaged 10.5 points on just 31.2% shooting in the first round series, which the second-seeded Grizzlies lost in six games.
Brooks went 10-of-42 from 3 in the 2023 series.
“Not giving me the confidence I needed and you can feel that energy coming from front office and coaches,” Brooks continued. “Never the players, the players want to win, but you feel that energy. Even if you’re working and put in the time, it’s not falling. Probably that was the last time.”
This proved to be Brooks’ last season with Memphis, where he began his NBA career in 2017. He went to the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade in the summer of 2023.
Brooks also regained his confidence.
“I had that little FIBA run,” said Brooks in reference to helping Canada win bronze in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. “All I kept doing was working, working, working to get back to where I was, the vintage Dillon Brooks.”
Brooks made an impact in Houston, helping the Rockets go from 22 wins the season prior to finishing second in the Western Conference last season with 52 victories.
Now he’s in his first season with the Suns after being part of the Kevin Durant trade and is once again making a difference. Averaging a career-high 20.3 points, Brooks has been instrumental in Phoenix’s surprising 8-5 start to the 2025-26 season.
“I like to play defense, I like to make it chippy, but the icing on the cake is when you’re able to score. It defeats them so much,” Brooks said.
Brooks scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half against the Pacers.
“Dillon had it going,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said. “Made some tough 2s. That’s the spirit fo the basketball gods. You work, you take care of your body, you do everything you can to go out there every single night and play hard, you get paid back. His work started long before he came to Phoenix. He puts it in and tonight, he was able to benefit from it.”
Brooks has been given the green light to shoot in Phoenix as he’s averaging a career-high 7.9 attempts from 3. He’s shooting 43.6% from the field overall, 32.7% from 3, but was more efficient than those averages Thursday with a 12-of-18 effort (3-of-7 from 3).
“This game is all about confidence no matter what level it is,” Brooks said. “You’ve got to be confident in your game, but comes from work, it comes from people telling you that you’re good or you got to get better. You slowly get better and better. Once you have a good surrounding cast, good team and great front office and good coaches, that stuff shows. You see it in every game and in good teams and good organizations. I don’t to go on a rant, but onto the next game.”
The Nov. 13 game was Brooks’ fourth game back after missing six straight with a core muscle strain.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve been around,” Suns star guard Devin Booker said. “He spends countless hours. Even when he was going through is core injury, I was telling him, ‘Are you supposed to be going that hard?’ But that’s his mentality, so it’s no surprise to me.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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