For most of Dillon Brooks career, he was always known as a defensive menace in every sense of the word. A well-built 6’7″ forward who had no qualms about getting in the face of every superstar in the NBA, especially LeBron James, Dillon is a surefire bet to not win any popularity contests in the league.
However, this season has seen the “villain” showcase different facets of his game: consistency and leadership. Averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game, his two-way play has been a significant reason why the Phoenix Suns have surprised many this season. With a 23-15 win-loss record, they currently hold the seventh seed in the stacked Western Conference.
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Apart from his numbers, Dillon’s leadership has also stood out as he has helped steer a young Suns squad that hasn’t even had star guard Jalen Green for most of the season. Seeing Dillon’s performance, Richard Jefferson couldn’t help but shade the Memphis Grizzlies, who he feels unfairly blamed the feisty forward for their loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
Heaped the blame on Dillon
On a recent episode of “Road Trippin,'” RJ did not gloss over the fact that Dillon deserved part of the blame. While his on-court antics and shenanigans may have played a role in giving Bron more motivation to bring his A-game (he averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists),
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“I thought what they did to Dillon Brooks was dirty in Memphis. He was going extra. Hear me out. He was doing too much. But the organization — you want to talk about scapegoat — go look at how he left. And it’s like, yeah, he was doing too much, but that was the culture,” Jefferson explained.
“That was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to talk trash.’ Ja Morant, him, Desmond Bane — these dudes were like, ‘We’re going to be, you know, a bunch of little Draymonds out there, talking trash, doing the thing,'” he added. “When it blew up, all of a sudden Dillon Brooks — it was his fault. And they’ve been looking to replace him ever since he left.”
While Phoenix has benefited from Dillon’s contributions, Memphis, on the other hand, has fallen to 10th and is suffering from a clear lack of identity. Morant, once one of the league’s fast-rising superstars, has regressed, while Bane has since been traded to the Orlando Magic.
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Dillon has rounded out his game
When hoop fans discuss Dillon these days, they no longer just think of him as a one-trick pony who agitates opponents on the defensive end. Instead, they see a versatile scorer who is capable of creating his own shot and knocking down threes with ease. This transformation has solidified Dillon as an integral part of Phoenix’s success.
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“I said that, hey, when you think of the Phoenix Suns right now, people ain’t thinking of Devin Booker. They thinking of Dillon Brooks. I wasn’t saying that Dillon Brooks is the best player,” the show’s co-host Kendrick Perkins surmised.
“You’re saying that he is the — you got the star, and you got this other problem that’s coming up that people don’t understand,” Jefferson added.
“It’s like, look — Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, those were the guys, but I was a problem on the other side. Devin Booker is the problem. Dillon Brooks is a problem that’s growing,” he continued. “So they’re talking about, ‘Hey, we know Devin. We’ve been trying to tackle Devin. But now we got this other problem over here named Dillon Brooks, and we got to address him.'”
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Make no mistake: Dillon still brings the pain on defense. He remains an instigator and has been known to get under the skin of opposing players with his physicality and trash talk. But at the same time, he’s no longer just that and opponents are starting to notice.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.