The Suns’ veteran instigator ignites a fresh feud with LeBron James, injecting a gritty, villainous edge into Phoenix’s culture while mentoring the roster's next generation of enforcers.
Veteran forward Dillon Brooks is entering his second season as a member of the Phoenix Suns after experiencing a career year in 2025-26.
The forward has yet to shy away from the controversy that he has generated over the course of his career since becoming a Sun last July - this continued for better or worse when he joined a live stream to share his thoughts on LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brooks shared that James is doing nothing but chasing another NBA title in a desperate manner from his vantage point, which continues to stir up drama that has been prevalent for many years at this point.
The percolating beef between James and Brooks has been in constant motion since the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Brooks' former team in the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2023 playoffs, and has extended to as recently as May - when Brooks showed up to watch the Lakers get eliminated at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James moving onto Philadelphia shrinks the ultimate stakes of the one-on-one rivalry, yet it continues to reflect on just how relentless Brooks is as a competitor at the same time.
The "villain" mantra that Brooks has fully embraced over the years has ultimately served the Suns well to this point, with the chatter serving as proof that he will continue bringing the same edge to Phoenix despite piling up 20 technical fouls last season.
One of the points of critique for the 2024-25 Suns rested in the roster being "weak" mentally, which in turn limited the capacity to stack victories together. There weren't any vocal leaders and certainly wasn't any unison within the locker room.
Brooks played an instrumental role in bringing a gritty mindset back to Phoenix - something that is much-needed even in an era predicated around high-flying offense. The edge that physicality, relentless hustle, and relentless competitive spirit is almost immeasurable, although Brooks has rubbed off positively on teammates in ways that can be measured.
Most of all is Collin Gillespie, who has taken the moniker of "villain junior" behind a gritty defensive approach and being unafraid to muck things up on the offensive side of the ball as well.
Time will tell if this trend continues to fall in the Suns' direction, but there are signs that the steadfast mentality that Brooks has will continue to reflect on teammates, including second-year center Khaman Maluach.
