Dillon Brooks is quickly becoming an NBA villain.
In a fictional world, the villain is often the most hated person in a movie or a story where you can throw sportsmanship and mutual respect out the window. But in the wonderful world of the NBA, the role of the villain is oftentimes embraced as they have played pivotal roles on many NBA championship teams.
There were the Bad Boys in Detroit who had Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer. The Knicks had Anthony Mason. Then you had your enforcers like Ron Artest and Kevin Garnett. Present-day villains such as Patrick Beverly, Trae Young, and Draymond Green are a few players in today’s NBA who portrays the role.
Also, we saw stars like Luka Doncic and Devin Booker going back and forth with one another as both players are well known for participating in verbal sparring matches with opponents during games. But no one has played the villain role better than Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks.
Dillon Brooks may be the villain that the NBA needs
Brooks has been involved in some of the most memorable villain moments so far this season, most notably the time he went at with TV personality and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe while he was sitting courtside at a LA Lakers game as the two men hurled remarks back and forth at one another.
That appeared to be the signature moment when Brooks began to embrace that bad boy persona as he began to incorporate into his game in order to provide him fuel and motivation to prove his doubters wrong. Players like Brooks are a rare breed. They could care less about who likes them, they stand up for their teammates when winning and also in times of adversity, and like it or not, they demand their respect on and off the court just like Brooks did in the Grizzlies’ recent win against the Warriors.
It’s no secret about the ongoing feud between Green and Brooks and fuel was added to the fire as Green made some interesting comments about Brooks on his podcast.
"“If you’ve ever wondered why the Grizzlies are not ready to compete for a championship, look no further than this idiot right here. I’m trying to figure out why they like you in Memphis? I’m not sure your teammates like you. Your understanding of the game of basketball is at a fan’s level and yet you’re running around talking about a dynasty? The dynasty starts after you, not with you and that’s just a fact. I know dynasty-type players and they aren’t clowns”."
The fact that Green and Brooks are trading jabs back and forth is good for the NBA. It’s good for entertainment from a fan’s aspect as the narrative would give us a potential playoff matchup between the Grizzlies and Warriors once again which would be a classic series.
Brooks had 14 points, four rebounds, and six assists in 34 minutes of action against the Warriors and his presence on the floor played a huge part as his ego exuded the confidence and the moxie as he was able to lead his team to a win.
When asked whether Green’s comments made him mad Brooks replied by saying:
"“No, because I’m a better player than him. I can do the same stuff like he does just as easy. You know, it’s just showing up to work. Me, you know, I try to score, I try to figure out plays. I try to call out plays for my team you know so it’s just the fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me as a low blow.”"
Brooks may not be the most talented player but he does play an important role for the Grizzlies. He is the true definition of what” Grit and Grind” are all about and if the Grizzlies are going to become a dynasty, I’m sure he is going to play an intricate part in making that a reality.