Last season, Dillon Brooks, formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies, went from a defensive-minded role player to one of the most hated players in the NBA, as he became an irritant and someone every opponent couldn’t stand playing against.
Although Brooks had made a name for himself as one of the better defenders in the league, it wasn’t until the first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA playoffs that he became a household name for all the wrong reasons.
Brooks went right at superstar forward LeBron James in that first-round series and caused quite a stir in the process as he openly mocked the future Hall of Famer and called him “old” during an interview in the locker room after the Grizzlies beat the Lakers in one of the games.
Ultimately, the Lakers embarrassed Brooks and the Grizzlies by taking down the Western Conference’s second-seeded team to advance to the second round.
Things went so bad for Brooks that the Grizzlies had no intention of bringing him back, resulting in his signing with the Houston Rockets this summer.
Even though Brooks has moved on to a new team, he continues to embrace the villain role and explained how he likes to get in opponents’ heads, according to Sportsnet.
"My teammates, they love me… but anybody else, they'll hate me."
Dillon Brooks spoke to @ArashMadani about embracing the role of a villain, his thoughts on LeBron James, and the pride of representing @CanBball at the #FIBAWC.
Full Interview ➡️ https://t.co/kS69Praasn pic.twitter.com/AZb4h4y94N
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 24, 2023
Even though a lot of people thought Brooks would struggle to find a new home in the NBA after his antics during the NBA playoffs, the Rockets chose to make him one of the team’s biggest offseason acquisitions.
Brooks signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Rockets, which means there will be much more of the self-proclaimed “villain” to come next season and beyond.
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