Dillon Brooks is winning the race for the 2023 NBA Playoffs Best Irritant. If he’s not already the clear-cut winner, he certainly is the favorite two games into the Grizzlies-Laker series.
Draymond Green stomped Domantas Sabonis on the chest and talked smack to the crowd afterward. That’s on-brand for Green. You could also argue that Sabonis grabbed Green’s leg initially which caused the whole scuffle. Regardless, those two hate each other now and will continue to hate each other as that series goes on.
But Brooks? He’s taking his villain game to the next level.
After the Grizzlies tied the series, Brooks delivered some words for LeBron James.
“I don’t care, he’s old,” he said. “He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul, he should have been saying that earlier on… I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40.”
Game 2 was a masterclass on how to be a Grade A antagonist. He played physically and kept banging into everybody. Don’t mind the fact that he scored 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting or the fact that he only played 22 minutes because of his five fouls. Not to mention, the guy that he was guarding, LeBron, still got 28 points and 12 boards. When he drilled a late triple that shut the door of a Lakers comeback, he let everyone know. He’s playing a different game beyond the court.
We all knew heading into the postseason that Brooks is already one of the game’s best villains. He got into it against Donovan Mitchell earlier in the season. He got into a shouting match with Shannon Sharpe on the sidelines. He plays physical. He talks trash. He gives killer quotes. Remember the time he dressed like Stone Cold Steve Austin? We already know he loves being the outlaw.
But in his matchup with LeBron in these playoffs, he can climb up the ladder on the all-time villain scale.
Check out his other quotes:
Dillon shares his thoughts on Bron postgame 😅 pic.twitter.com/nhBx7NRez4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 20, 2023
This is some WWE-levels of smack. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s trying to agitate James and the entire Lakers team to throw them off their game. It’s the audacity of saying all these things to the GOAT of this generation and against arguably the largest fanbase in the NBA. He wants all the smoke. Granted that he’s also probably doing this for attention. Then again, he doesn’t care.
There have been many who have come and challenged the King. We’re not talking about Steph Curry and the Warriors or Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. We’re going back to the guys who tried to get under his skin. We’re talking about the likes of DeShawn Stevenson, Jason Terry, and, of course, Lance Stephenson. More often than not, LeBron rises to the occasion and delivers against these wannabe Kingslayers.
But LeBron is in different territory. Brooks said it himself, LeBron isn’t as young as he used to be. If this was 2008, 2011, or even 2016, you can easily predict him dropping 40 in the next game. Sure, he can still get 40 at his advanced age, but it’s not a sure thing as it was before. The league’s all-time leading scorer is being challenged like never before.
That’s what makes all this exciting. Can LeBron vanquish another agitator this late in his career? Will Brooks just be another footnote in the King’s long and successful reign? Or will the villain triumph in this story? Who will have the last laugh?
Dillon Brooks versus LeBron James is definitely a must-see matchup in the first round.
