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Dillon Brooks of the Phoenix Suns was issued a one-game suspension by the NBA, but it is by no means the first ban given out this season.
The NBA has announced that Dillon Brooks of the Phoenix Suns will be suspended for one game after confirming that it was his 16th technical foul of the season in the third quarter of the team’s Wednesday night game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul of the 2025-26 season, it was announced today by James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations,” the league wrote in a statement.
The following has been released by the NBA.
Brooks, known for his hard-nosed and aggressive play style, is no stranger to confrontations, technical fouls, or punishments by the NBA. He will miss out on $121,403 due to the one-game suspension, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Dillon Brooks Suspended One Game By The NBA
Brooks received his 16th technical foul of the season after an interaction with referee James Williams after a foul was called on him against Jared McCain. After the game, Brooks commented on the interaction that eventually led to his one-game suspension.
“I had a ref tell me that I play the victim, so I ain’t talking no more about that,” Brooks told reporters after the game. “Yeah. He said I’m playing victim all the time. And when I don’t play victim, I’m the bad guy.”
Suns’ Dillon Brooks on picking up his 16th technical foul last night, which will make him suspended for the next game if it stands:
“I had a ref tell me that I play the victim, so I ain’t talking no more about that.”
“He literally said that to you? Was that James [Williams]?”
“If you’re going to be consistently bad, then be consistently bad throughout the whole game. Don’t try to fix it during the game. Don’t trying to be doing any of that or try to even out foul calls or whatever it may be. If you’re going to be bad, be bad the whole game.”
Regardless of Brooks’s perspective on the technical foul, it was upheld by the NBA, and he will not be forced to miss the Suns’ next game after the All-Star Break. But now that he has reached the 16 technical foul limit, Brooks will have to watch his behavior for the rest of the season, as more fouls could lead to further suspensions.
“Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game once he receives his 16th technical foul during a regular season,” the league added in the statement. “For every two additional technical fouls received during that regular season, the player or coach will be automatically suspended without pay for an additional game.”
Brooks is having the best season of his career in Phoenix this year, putting up averages of 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 44.1/34.3/85.6 shooting splits.
NBA Suspensions And Technical Foul Accumulations, Highlighted By Pistons-Hornets Fight
While Brooks is the latest NBA player to receive a suspension, he is by no means the only player to be hit with a punishment by the league this season.
Most notably, the massive fight between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets led to four ejections, with each player subsequently receiving a multi-game suspension. Of those included are Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, and Hornets’ Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate.
Stewart, also known as Beef Stew, like Brooks, consistently finds himself in scuffles and was hit with a seven-game suspension for leaving Detroit’s bench and entering the brawl. Duren, a first-time All-Star, was suspended two games for his actions, but will still be able to play in the All-Star game. Both Bridges and Diabate were suspended for four games for their involvement in the fight, for what the NBA deemed ‘fighting and escalating the altercation.’
Jaxson Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers was also recently suspended for one game after pushing a mascot. He later apologized, but still served the punishment.
Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves was also banned for one game for exceeding a certain number of flagrant fouls this season.
Dennis Schroder, while on the Sacramento Kings, was suspended three games for a post-game interaction with Luka Doncic, allegedly trying to strike the Lakers’ superstar in the tunnel of the arena.
Jose Alvarado and Mark Williams were also suspended for two games each for a fight earlier in the season.
Additionally, Paul George of the Philadelphia 76ers has been suspended for 25 games, the most in recent NBA memory, for what the league called ‘violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.’
Doncic, Stewart, and Draymond Green are the next players with the most technical fouls this season behind Brooks, with 13, 12, and 11, respectively, and each will serve a similar one-game suspension if they hit the 16 technical foul mark.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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