“He works hard for everything,” Amen Thompson says of Rockets teammate Dillon Brooks. “He prepares for games like he prepares for war.”
Going back to his days with the Memphis Grizzlies, veteran forward Dillon Brooks has always been something of a lightning rod for criticism. Teammates love him, but rivals? Not so much.
That trend has continued with the Houston Rockets.
In a recent interview with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip, rising talent Amen Thompson spoke of several topics related to his rookie NBA season in Houston. Regarding Brooks, Thompson said:
DB, he’s the coolest. It surprised me, to be honest. He’s the coolest dude. Really chill. He works hard for everything. He prepares for games like he prepares for war, so I see it in that aspect. Coolest dude for real.
Thompson, who helped Brooks fortify Houston’s perimeter defense last season, said the veteran shared some useful advice with him.
“Just always do something every day,” Thompson said of the professional perspective from Brooks. “If that’s not basketball, working on your body. He’s big on that. He does that every day.”
“I like to play for my country; it gives me a lot of passion to do so,” Dillon Brooks told BasketNews. “For the game itself, you have to be 40 minutes, attentive to detail.”
In 2023, Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks enjoyed a strong run as Canada secured its first FIBA World Cup medal. He punctuated that effort with an astonishing 39-point outburst on peak efficiency during a third-place game victory versus the United States.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Brooks and his native Canada appear poised to make another deep tournament run. After a 2-0 start to the three-game group phase of Olympic play, Canada has already secured its spot in the eight-team, single elimination quarterfinals.
Brooks is a clear reason, with averages of 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 24.4 minutes while shooting 50.0% from the field and over 70% on 3-pointers. His average plus/minus for each game, which represents Canada’s scoring margin with Brooks on the court, is +17.5.
Dillon Brooks nails a 3 over his Rocket teammate Jock Landale and gives him a hug after the win. Brooks finished with 16 points on 3-6 from 3 in Canada’s win pic.twitter.com/Y6XM18phxV
“I like to play for my country; it gives me a lot of passion to do so,” Brooks told BasketNews. “For the game itself, you have to be 40 minutes attentive to detail. All those things add a lot more to a player.”
Canada finishes group-stage play versus Spain on Friday, with tipoff set for 10:15 a.m. Central (it can be streamed on Peacock). Until then, here is a look at Brooks’ 2024 Olympic highlights, in photos.
In an Olympics matchup featuring three current Rockets, Dillon Brooks and Canada will face Jock Landale, Jack McVeigh, and Australia on Tuesday.
In a 2024 Olympics matchup featuring three current Houston Rockets players, Dillon Brooks and Team Canada will face Jock Landale, Jack McVeigh, and Team Australia on Tuesday morning.
The game tips off at 6:30 a.m. Central from Lille, France, and it will be available to watch and stream live in the United States on Peacock (subscription required). Brooks and Landale are expected to start for their sides, while McVeigh will play off the bench.
The 12 nations in the men’s basketball tournament are split into three groups, with four teams in each group. Canada and Australia are both in Group A, along with Greece and Spain.
At the end of the three-game group phase, the top two teams in each group automatically advance to the quarterfinals. Additionally, the two best third-place teams, as determined by point differential, move on to the eight-team quarterfinals. At that point, the tournament will follow a standard single elimination, knockout format.
Both Canada and Australia won their initial group-phase game on Saturday, with all three members of the Rockets playing well in those games. So, both sides are well positioned to eventually move on to the quarterfinals — and a win Tuesday could potentially clinch it.
Dillon Brooks says Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the toughest covers in NBA.
Matching up against the opposition’s best scorers, Dillon Brooks has had his fair share of experiences to judge who some of the best players in the league are.
As Canada prepares for group play in the 2024 Olympics, Brooks broke down the three toughest opponents to defend. The 28-year-old listed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as one of his answers.
The other two players were Luka Doncic and Andrew Nembhard.
This shouldn’t be a shocker. Gilgeous-Alexander has ascended into one of the best players in the league over the last two seasons. He finished runner-up in MVP last season.
As an efficient 30-plus point scorer, Gilgeous-Alexander drives to the basket often with little resistance. This has made the 26-year-old a tough cover on any night.
This is solid praise to hear from Gilgeous-Alexander Canadian teammate. Despite his villain gimmick and offensive tunnel vision, Brooks is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.
Expect both players to duke it out next season as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets square off for playoff seeding. The former is seen as a title contender while the latter can make the playoff jump next year.
After a promising rookie season, Amen Thompson was chosen as one of the 15 players for the USA Select Team. Thompson stopped by briefly to chat with HoopsHype with some quick hitters about his experience playing against the National Team, his rookie …
After a promising rookie season, Amen Thompson was chosen as one of the 15 players for the USA Select Team. Thompson stopped by briefly to chat with HoopsHype with some quick hitters about his experience playing against the National Team, his rookie season, advice from teammates, twin brother Ausar, and more.
Rockets players Dillon Brooks and Jock Landale appear set to play for Canada and Australia, respectively, at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As of today, the Houston Rockets expect two representatives at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer: forward Dillon Brooks and center Jock Landale. The contest begins in late July.
Brooks is expected to compete as a defensive ace for Canada, while Landale will be part of the big-man rotation for Australia. In most games at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Brooks started at small forward for the Canadians during their bronze-medal run.
This year, Canada and Australia (both in Group A) are among 12 teams who in the men’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Olympics. Other teams include the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Serbia, Greece, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Serbia, and South Sudan, which will be coached by current Rockets assistant Royal Ivey.
Young prospects Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson are part of USA Basketball’s training camp for the Olympics, though their participation is on a Select Team that is tasked with helping prepare the Olympics group during practices and scrimmages.
Barring injury, neither Smith nor Thompson will be a consideration to actually play for the U.S. men’s team at the Olympics.
In 2023, Landale injured his ankle during a game in August while competing for Australia’s national team, and his fitness was compromised during the early stages of the ensuing 2023-24 NBA season. The hope is obviously for better injury luck this time around.
[lawrence-related id=124551,116565,116435]
The Australian Boomers team for the 2024 Paris Olympics has been finalised, sources told ESPN.
Josh Giddey Dyson Daniels Josh Green Patty Mills Danté Exum Jock Landale Duop Reath Joe Ingles Jack McVeigh Will Magnay Matthew Dellavedova Nick Kay
“I’m not going to lie, I just don’t like him,” Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan says of his March scuffle with Houston’s Dillon Brooks. “Don’t walk up behind me.”
Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan and veteran Rockets forward Dillon Brooks were both ejected in a March 21 game at Houston.
DeRozan committed a flagrant foul (seemingly out of frustration) against Houston’s Jalen Green, who went down and writhed in pain after DeRozan’s hard contact to Green’s upper leg.
From there, Brooks immediately came to the defense of his teammate and intervened. From there, a physical altercation ensued in which both players had to be separated by teammates and coaches.
No punches were thrown, though both were ejected. DeRozan was given a flagrant-two foul for his contact with Green, while Brooks was handed a technical foul and an ejection for retaliating.
During a recent episode of The 25/10 Show (hosted by DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy, former NFL stars with the Philadelphia Eagles), DeRozan discussed the altercation and said he was upset that Brooks had come up from behind him, when he wasn’t looking.
Among DeRozan’s comments:
I’m not going to lie, I just don’t like him. And for two, don’t walk up behind me. That’s rule number one, don’t walk up on no man behind him when his back’s turned.
Don’t run up behind me, and just don’t talk s–t. I respect everybody.
The full podcast can be viewed below, with discussion of the Houston incident starting at the 1:19:15 mark. As for the initial contact, DeRozan acknowledged being frustrated from a previous play and said he “wasn’t trying to hit him that hard.” He called it “a nudge.”
Jackson and McCoy didn’t buy that innocent explanation, however, and they jokingly referred to it as a football play.
In postgame comments at the time, DeRozan said his contact wasn’t intentional or malicious, but that’s not how Brooks saw it. Thus, Brooks didn’t wait around when delivering his response.
It’s not how Rockets coach Ime Udoka saw it, either. “A guy takes a hit, and teammates are going to stand up for each other,” Udoka said.
The 2024-25 NBA schedule will be released in August, and that’s when we’ll learn the next potential DeRozan-Brooks meeting.
Dillon Brooks on his defense this season: “I didn’t want to stir the pot, too much. I feel like the NBA restrained me from playing that type of game.”
The competitive juices were flowing for Houston forward Dillon Brooks during Sunday’s agonizing overtime loss at Dallas, which eliminated the Rockets from 2024 postseason contention.
Brooks spent much of the day locked in defensive battles against the Mavericks’ All-Star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
In postgame comments to reporters, Brooks confirmed the apparent increase in intensity, and he acknowledged there were times this season in which he didn’t defend with his preferred style.
Before signing with the Rockets in the 2023 offseason, Brooks incurred a series of fines and ejections for infractions that occurred during his final months with the Memphis Grizzlies.
As Brooks sees it, that played a role in him being a bit more conservative than he would like during the 2023-24 season.
Here’s what Brooks, who finished with a team-high three steals in Sunday’s game, said postgame to Brian Barefield of Rockets Wire:
I didn’t want to stir the pot too much. I feel like the NBA restrained me from playing that type of game. But I’ve just got to have an “I don’t care” mentality, and just deal with whatever comes with it.
Complete video of Brooks’ comments can be viewed below.
The competitive edge Brooks played with defensively in Dallas may also have fueled a breakout performance on the offensive end. Brooks finished with a season-high 29 points while making 9-of-14 shots (64.3%) and 5-of-6 from 3-point range (83.3%).
Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks said that he is going to go back to his old style of playing defense. He believes that he changed too much when he got to Houston because the league was watching him. #Rockets#Sarge@TheRocketsWirepic.twitter.com/55MOCuhyxB
The Rockets (38-40) have four games left to play in the 2023-24 season and have an opportunity for a .500 record and a winning season. As part of that last-week push, Brooks is insisting he’ll bring the type of aggressive defense and competitive intensity that will be seen much more frequently in 2024-25 and beyond.
Next for Brooks and the Rockets is Tuesday’s home finale versus Orlando (46-32) with a 7 p.m. Central tipoff from Houston.
DeMar DeRozan spoke about his altercation with Dillon Brooks after the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Houston Rockets.
The Chicago Bulls dropped their game against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. They were riding a two-game win streak during which they took down some bottom-feeding squads and were looking to keep it going against one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Unfortunately, the Rockets got the best of them.
In the third quarter, Jalen Green blocked DeMar DeRozan, and then on the other end, the Bulls star hit the Rockets youngster with a hard foul. DeRozan got called for a Flagrant 2 for the foul, and immediately afterward, Dillon Brooks walked up to him and created an altercation. He was backing up his teammate.
“Just walking up on me in any type of way,” DeRozan said. “I don’t play the walking up on somebody when their back is turned. Nah, that’s just not a thing we do. I walked away from the situation after the foul. I just felt like it’s an issue walking up on any man from behind.”
Both DeRozan and Brooks were ejected from the game.
Ime Udoka on Thursday’s Rockets-Bulls scuffle: “They are not backing down. A guy takes a hit, and teammates are going to stand up for each other.”
HOUSTON — Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks sent a message to the rest of the NBA before stepping on the Toyota Center court.
“When you come to play Houston, you know it’s going to be a physical battle,” Brooks said in October 2023 as part of his first press conference after signing with the Rockets. “It’s going to be a challenge. When you come play Houston, you know it’s going to be a physical battle. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s not just a walk in the park no more, when you come to Houston.”
With the 2023-24 season in its final month, those words ring as strongly as the day he spoke them. Throughout the season, Brooks and his teammates have put them into action.
Toughness is a character trait that Brooks displayed when he was with the Grizzlies, as he took on Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James in the 2023 NBA playoffs. Though Memphis lost that series, Brooks did not flinch.
Never forget that Dillon Brooks is standing on business… “When you come play Houston, you know it’s going to be a physical battle. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s not just a walk in the park no more when you come to Houston.”#Rockets#Sarge@TheRocketsWirepic.twitter.com/lfDc1EQbON
In Houston, the unwavering mindset starts with head coach Ime Udoka, who believes his team must fight fire with fire when opponents try to bully them with on-court physicality. That’s what the Bulls tried to do on Thursday in Houston’s 127-117 victory.
With 6:02 remaining in the third quarter, Chicago forward DeMar DeRozan committed an egregious foul against Rockets guard Jalen Green, sending him to the floor grimacing in pain.
As the medical staff rushed to check on him, DeRozan and Brooks got into an altercation, which subsequently led to DeRozan swinging an elbow to Brooks’ chin. That led to an on-court encounter between both teams, with teammates and coaches separating them.
“A guy takes a hit, and teammates are going to stand up for each other,” said Rockets HC Ime Udoka during his postgame press conference. “You have seen about three or four of those (on-court scuffles), and it is a good thing, in my opinion.” #Rockets#Sarge@TheRocketsWirepic.twitter.com/ABi0aTiYpL
Once the officials reviewed the video footage, they determined that DeRozan’s foul on Green was a flagrant two, and he was ejected from the game. Brooks was given a technical foul and ejected; it was determined by referees that he escalated the situation.
“I didn’t love it being that (Brooks) got elbowed, and he walked over and didn’t say anything crazy,” Udoka said regarding the scuffle. “What they say the rules are is the guy that kind of instigates it, that gets it to that step after DeRozan did what he did … he got (ejected) because of that. Don’t love that he got hit, but if you walk over, that’s basically the rule, and that is how they explained it to me.”
Even though the Rockets lost one of their hottest offensive weapons in Brooks, who scored 23 points in 25 minutes played while playing excellent defense against DeRozan, Houston did not succumb to the Bulls’ rough play. Instead, the Rockets used it as motivation to finish the game and secure their seventh straight win.
“It has been good,” Udoka said when asked about his team playing more physically in recent weeks. “I think we talked about from the start of the season about effort and competitiveness. Not a bad thing to have these types of chippy games. … I don’t mind that part at all.”
“It is good that guys are battling and getting competitive,” Udoka said of his improving team. “We are all playing for something, and they are not backing down. A guy takes a hit, and teammates are going to stand up for each other. You have seen about three or four of those (on-court scuffles), and it is a good thing, in my opinion.”
