The NBA’s notorious agitator pulls back the curtain on his "villain" persona, revealing how his aggressive competitive fire is fueling a gritty new identity for the Suns.
The Phoenix Suns are firmly in the "villain" business.
Phoenix is rostering one of the biggest examples of said "villains" in the NBA in Dillon Brooks, who is fully engrained in the future of the Suns' organization.
While some may see Brooks' antics as tired or over-the-top, as well as the idea of possibly serving as a poor influence in the sphere of public life. The 2017 second-round pick spoke about the narratives that surround him (and why he is misunderstood) to Doug Haller of The Athletic in a recent talk.
“As a human being, you have good, and you have a little bit of bad, a little bit of villainy."
Brooks then went on to claim that demonstrating moderation in displaying villainy is key, while pushing the idea that a villain doesn't always need to be "bad" per se.
This interview does an exceptional job of contextualizing his status as a "bad guy" in the NBA sphere. While challenging LeBron James over the years, to piling up an exponential amount of fines and technical fouls doesn't necessarily reflect well on Brooks, it does bring to life that his mindset as a tireless competitor is very real.
The Canadian forward is set on staying consistent in every facet of his journey as a player - the tireless defense, the endless physicality, and the lead-by-example approach that defines the teams he is part of.
The "misunderstood" nature of his career arc seems to reflect on how he is embraced in Phoenix. The locker room seems to unanimously embrace his approach, including guard Collin Gillespie - who is now "villain junior" - a label coined by Brooks himself. The wing also shares a strong relationship with franchise player Devin Booker, and is being embraced by the Phoenix fanbase in a way that didn't show in Memphis or Houston.
There are many layers that come with Brooks as a player and a person, but this isn't necessarily a negative. All of the good, the bad, and the misunderstood is now a piece of Phoenix's new identity as they run into a new era in succession of a prior run that simply didn't work out.
There's many areas that still need to be ironed out for the Suns future-wise, but Brooks will be a pillar of what is currently building - good, ugly, and everything in-between.
Brooks' second season in Phoenix kicks off with the opening of training camp in roughly two weeks, in preparation for the preseason opener on Oct. 5.
