Dillon Brooks breaks down pregame stare ritual, reveals inspiration

Before the start of each game, Dillon Brooks can be seen standing on the sidelines, blankly staring into the distance.

The pregame ritual has been going on for years and has gone viral online.

But while some think of it as meme-worthy or deeply unserious, Brooks debunked that notion and revealed quite the opposite.

Dillon Brooks’ stare-down tradition is something else 😭

(h/t @KevOnStage) pic.twitter.com/9VTSFEVHqb

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 30, 2025

“When I was a kid, I used to watch Mike Tyson,” he said. “That’s probably where I got the stare from, too, was probably Mike Tyson, and seeing the fear in opponents’ eyes when they look down or how he’s the aggressor every single time.”

Brooks added that for him the staring is not about intimidation but is more of a meditative thing. “It puts me in my mode,” Brooks said.” 

“It’s just me focusing on my breathing, trying to calm myself down before the game starts,” Brooks said. “Just getting into like feeling the whole crowd and the whole like atmosphere of the game.”

How did Dillon Brooks develop his signature pregame stare?

Boxing legend Mike Tyson is a big influence for how the Suns forward gets into his “mode.” pic.twitter.com/XNxStuChk5

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) January 30, 2026

In his first season in Phoenix, after coming over from Houston in the Kevin Durant trade, Brooks is averaging a career high 21.1 points per game and shooting a career high 44.8% from the field.

On Thursday, he scored a career high 40 points in 33 minutes, and he followed that up with 27 points in 24 minutes in Friday’s victory.

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