Dillon Brooks says respect is the base of his ‘rivalry’ with LeBron James

Anyone who’s watched Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks throughout his career knows he gets fired up to guard and antagonize an opposing team’s star.

None more than the Philadelphia 76ers’ star LeBron James.

But while it could seem like Brooks just likes to cause chaos and to instigate, his rivalry with opposing stars is more about respect than personal beef.

“I’ve been watching (LeBron James) my whole life. He’s been the phenom of the NBA. So it’s something where I get to prove myself no matter what the age, no matter what the time is,” Brooks told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Monday. “I get to prove myself every day against the best.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s LeBron or Kawhi (Leonard) or Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) or whoever it is, Kevin Durant.”

The 2022-23 NBA All-Defensive team honoree said James got the best of him early on in his career, and that’s what lit the fire inside.

“He had my number one game. That’s what I talked about my welcome-to-the-league moment was him scoring like a go-ahead layup on me. And I told myself I’ll never let that happen again. You want to call it a rivalry. You want to call it me trying to pick on somebody or get under somebody’s skin, but for me, … I’m trying to bring my best to the best and see where I stand up.”

Though Brooks’ “rivalries” on the court stem from wanting to go against the best of the best, the villain side of the veteran forward comes out on the mental side of it.

Brooks said his goal is to get in his opponents’ heads and make them think about him when they leave the court. He has to dislike them on the hardwood in order to bring the best out of himself in the matchup.

“The type of competitiveness … for me it’s always left on the court. Some guys take it with them home, which I love because if you take it home, that means I’m in your head,” Brooks added. “I’m with you at home like without even being there. I’m sleeping good, and I’m worried about the next game.

“When you come and play Phoenix, you got to think about me before the game starts. You got to game plan for me in the aspects of trash-talking, and my game is more flourishing now.”

Brooks has earned the “villain” nickname throughout his career, but he’s started to shift it into a leadership role in Phoenix. The veteran’s maturity has been on display as a Sun, but that doesn’t mean he’ll shy away from being the antagonist on the court.

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