Originally compiled from: The Athletic
Written by Dan Robson
原标题：Dillon Brooks, ‘basketball monk,’ has never been afraid to be the bad guy
Dillon's fiery temper has always been a destabilizing factor on the field
Long before Dillon Brooks became the NBA's well-known supervillain, he was nearly ruined by Tony McIntyre. The coach and owner of Canadian AAU basketball league giants CIA Bounce firmly believes that Dillon has great potential. He was a strong, gifted teenager who lived to play. Brooks can dominate opponents and will give his full attention to the game.
There is no doubt that Dillon is indeed very good, but he was not the most talented player on the field at the time.
But Dillon would never admit it. Even then, as a 16-year-old, he was convinced that he had the ability to beat anyone. He has the confidence that a player who reaches a certain height. But he switches too easily between fearlessness, advocating competition and a hot-tempered and uncontrollable temper. He always makes some stupid technical fouls. He will curse the referee and provoke the opponent to cause conflict. In those conflicts that erupted too often, Dillon's irritability overshadowed his skill. This is likely to be the root cause of his failure.
During the Nike Youth Elite basketball league in Virginia, Dillon's outburst hurt his team. At the team's hotel, McIntyre kept Brooks in his room and locked him up until he could find an effective way to control his anger.
"You can't just tell me it's something that can't be changed," McIntyre told Brooks. "Your body temperature is soaring, there must be that feeling. There must be something that makes you feel like the trigger – you tell me so you can let me know when your emotions are going to erupt and I can help you. ”
Brooks didn't answer. They sat like that in their hotel room for hours. Yielding no results, Brooks couldn't describe the problem.
But in the following game, McIntyre stared at Dillon's ticking time bomb as Dillon ran off the court after a controversial penalty.
"It's about to start," Brooks warned.
"Substitution! Substitution! McIntyre shouted, quickly extinguishing the fire before Dillon was about to explode.
Later, when Dillon played at the NCAA's Findlay Preparatory School and the University of Oregon, his coaches doubted whether he was doing enough to help him control the intensity of his game.
The man with the most backs in the league never flinched
Now, Dillon is the NBA's most notorious dangerous goods. His dirty actions on the court earned him 18 technical fouls that topped the NBA, and he was suspended for two games for eating too many technical fouls in one season. The Grizzlies forward swingman is often assigned to defend opposing team's top scorer, which has produced highlights of his clashes with some of the stars.
He yelled at Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. He punched Kevin Durant in the face and chest with James Harden, he went head-to-head with Damien Lillard and scuffled with Donovan Mitchell (after he hit Mitchell's groin). He harped Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. His longstanding feud with Draymond Green led the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year to call Dillon an idiot and a clown.
Brooks seems to enjoy the controversy, and his tendency to play the role of demagogue has made him one of the NBA's most talked about players this season. When Green defeated the Warriors after insulting Dillon in the podcast, Dillon's remarks in an interview with TNT on the sidelines continued to deepen the hatred between the two sides.
"That's what I did. I told him... Keep doing his podcast, keep tweeting," Brooks told TNT. "Keep doing his thing off the field, he's lovely. It's really interesting. ... You should hand the microphone to Green. So that he can continue to talk about me and I can play better. ”
Bullies on the pitch, good boys off the pitch
McIntyre has realized he has always been wrong. Playing passionately as a teenager wasn't his biggest flaw. This is actually his superpower.
"I tried to get him to understand that," McIntyre said. "But I really think part of the reason you have to survive in the NBA is that you have to be a bit of a jerk... He's going to survive in the NBA because he could be a big jerk, and he could be a big jerk who believes in himself more than anyone else. ”
While Dillon's rabid deeds have always been present, they were especially evident during the 2022 Western Conference semifinals. At the time, the Grizzlies forward swingman was whistled for a serious foul on Payton Jr. on a fast-break layup and was whistled for a second-degree malicious foul, which directly resulted in Peyton Jr. breaking his elbow, and Dillon was ejected and suspended for Game 3 of the series.
After the incident, Warriors coach Steve Kerr argued that Dillon's ferocious foul violated the "rules." Before it was over, Brooks shoved Stephen Curry in Game 6 and received a malicious foul.
The Grizzlies lost the series in six games, and Dillon has since become the Bay Area's number one public enemy.
A few months ago at Christmas, Diane Brooks was very clear about what those around her thought of her son Dillon.
At the Chase Center in San Francisco, Warriors fans were unequivocal in their determination to curse Dillon. As Diane sat amid the insults directed at her son, she was careful not to expose her relationship with Dillon's mother and son so as not to be the target of ridicule from Warriors fans. Grizzlies security guards advised family members to avoid clashes with opposing fans. With Diane's character it certainly won't. When it comes to impulsive temper, she is the opposite of her son.
Diane spent several years rushing home from her job at a bank in downtown Toronto to take Dillon to school. They would travel throughout the city and its sprawling suburbs, participating in practice and competitions — often with two younger children — to ensure Dillon had more opportunities to reach the goals he set for himself as a child. He decorated his room with a giant Wade head and spent most of his time playing basketball on a portable basketball hoop outside until one night the city of Mississauga removed it and shipped it away because it violated local regulations.
Even in middle school, Brooks showed his ferocity in some ways while playing at the YMCA. From the moment he started basketball for the club, he carried the same confidence that has become the hallmark he is now — even if he wasn't the best player on the court, Sahil-Zilvi recalls playing with Dillon at a club in Mississauga in eighth grade. This team often faces bigger, stronger, more talented opponents than they are, but Brooks never seems to care.
"He's super fearless," Zilvi said. "He's ready for any challenge."
For Diane, basketball is a positive way for her son to release energy. But she soon realized that for Dillon there was more to it than that. She said he was determined to be the best player he could be – and he was constantly trying to prove himself.
"He's always going to be on the brink when the score is down," Diane said. 'He's always going to face this situation, letting him play as soon as he falls behind, and as long as he plays, it fills the team with energy and the team plays better.
It was really upsetting to hear people abuse her son in the past, but she was used to Dillon's six years with the Grizzlies.
"It really bothered me at first, because I thought, 'You don't know him, he's not that kind of person,'" Diane admits. "But now I love this outside voice, it's just part of the game. I know who he is, I know what kind of person he is. I know he's not that kind of evil guy. ”
She likened her son's role on the court to that of a follower in professional wrestling. People who have known him for years are quick to point out the stark contrast between his arrogance and ill-handed behaviour on the pitch and his moderation off the pitch.
Single-mindedness to win is just an expression of his personality
In late February, Dillon arrived at a Grizzlies game wearing a tank top and shorts, which many would compare to that of wrestler Steve "Cold Rock" Austin. Brooks doesn't work with stylists like some NBA stars. His dress choices often attract attention, such as wearing a gorgeous fur coat after a home game against the Toronto Raptors in 2021.
"It's a little weird." Diana said with a smile. The Grizzlies coaching staff told her that when Dillon came shirtless and wearing only Prada overalls, they knew they would win the game. Fashion glitter is an extension of Brooks' role on the court: he's just the guy who plays by his own rules, but has specific intentions.
It's the real intention behind Brooks' grumpy side, which makes him one of the key members of this megalomaniacal Grizzlies team led by young star players Ja Morant and Jalen Jackson. The team has finished second in the West for the past two seasons.
Ever since they played club league in middle school and became close friends, Jaylen Powys has felt Brooks' bohemian competitive spirit. When they played rugby together at Henry Carr Catholic High School, the coach was Jaylen's father, Mark.
The Powys family is located in Brampton, where Dillon is a frequent visitor, where friends compete fiercely driven by relentless competition. But the competition doesn't stop just on the court, and late-stage battles about "NBA 2K" or "Call of Duty" are likely to be just as intense. Brooks is obsessed with any loss and can't let go. Sometimes there are heated arguments, but they all end up with friends understanding that "Dillon is this kind of personality".
Powys said that was Dillon's personality. But his evil also has another expression.
Dillon's presence is already having an impact in the League
In his Henry Carr's first game, Brooks completed back-to-back aerial relays as he hung on the basket and cheered in celebration. It also set the tone for a season, with Brooks leading Henry Carr to the finals, losing just two games throughout the year. Henry Carr's head coach Paul Melnik said Brooks played tenaciously and the team benefited greatly from the atmosphere.
"You should never try to ruin that little spark. What you have to do is help the team learn how to control it," Melnik said. "If you suppress that intensity, I think you're going to kill his game."
"It's a fun team, with Brooks' pre-game dancing and on-court celebrations creating a strong game atmosphere." Tanville Bhullar, a 2.13m player on the team, said he had a close relationship with Brooks before going to play at New Mexico State University.
"We had a lot of fun playing together on the pitch," Bhullar said. "To be honest, it's amazing. Every player likes to have teammates like this, and every player hates playing against players like this. ”
During his time with Powys and Jamal Murray for CIA Bounce, Brooks always wanted to defend the opposing top players. He wanted to prove that no one could beat him. When they were still in high school, Brooks explained to Powys that he tried to exhaust opponents by ramming them, and that exhaustion rose to their brains and took them out of the game.
"I'm telling you, what he's doing now is what he did as a kid," Powys said. "In training, he even clashes with his teammates. Once on the court, Dillon was still the fearless basketball player. He's going to work hard... Try to knock you out and find your weaknesses. ”
Powys mocked the tongue-smacking reaction Dillon now gets from his NBA rival. He knew how irritating such jokes were. But over the years, he learned how to ignore it. Powys said the Grizzlies' opponents don't seem to be able to do that. Brooks has always hinted to himself in the past that his goal is to "build solid barriers" in the minds of his opponents. Recently, Dillon's influence on the whole league has gradually increased.
"As long as it's everybody he's targeting," Powys said. "They're all going to be upset."
Dillon is a leader in the Canadian basketball system
Canadian players have been in the NBA for more than a decade. Players such as Tristan Thompson and Corey Joseph were drafted in the first round in 2011 and established themselves in the NBA, showing Canadian kids their potential. Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins — like TT, are CIA Bounce graduates — were elected consecutive champions in 2013 and 2014. Taylor Ennis was selected with the 18th overall pick in 2014. Since then, more and more Canadian players have poured into the NBA league — including the likes of Jamal Murray and SGA bigwigs, as well as promising RJ Barrett, who was the third pick in 2019. At the start of the 2022-23 NBA season, there were 23 Canadian players on the NBA roster, which is also a record and makes Canada the country with the most NBA players outside the United States.
As an assistant coach at Canitheus College in Buffalo, Mike Mennenga quickly drove across the border to the basketball talent pipeline area around Lake Ontario, home to 8 million people.
Menica has linked itself to AAU and high school leagues, which produce top basketball talent. He first watched Brooks play in middle school, but didn't really pay attention to Henry Carr before he approached him.
In this talented team, Brooks is clearly a player with outstanding physical qualities. But from the start, Menica felt Brooks had the potential to become the number one player on the margins. Meniga said it wasn't until Brooks' summer team, CIA Bounce, scored Nike's EYBL to play with some of America's top talent, that he began to show what he was really capable of.
The same year Brooks arrived in Oregon, Meneca was hired as an assistant coach for Dana Altman, a valuable connection. The two met regularly at the original Pancake House, where Brooks ate his staple pancakes, topped with cottage cheese, and they would dissect his game rationally. Meniga said Brooks is obsessed with improving improvement. He is a "basketball maniac" who meticulously studies opponents before each game, remembers their offensive tendencies, and identifies weaknesses and exploits them.
"In Dillon's first season, he really showed how eager he was to be a good player," Menica said. Brooks integrated well into Oregon's system, joining fellow Canadians Chris Boucher and Dylan Ennis in the Pac-12 freshman team.
But the fly in the ointment is that although Brooks is 1.98 meters tall and has a strong physique, he still has some youthful weakness in his bones. During Brooks' freshman year, an experienced teammate began calling him "Fat" as a motivator for Dillon, and he began to focus on his health and nutrition. Meniga said his body fat dropped from 17 percent to 7 percent.
"If there's one thing that pushes Dillon to become an NBA player, it's definitely his commitment to getting back in shape," Menica said.
Brooks gradually became a star during three seasons in Oregon, reaching the Final Four in his junior year — after which he decided to enter the NBA Draft.
With his Ducks teammates, Brooks' intensity seems to have found a balance. Instead of trying to coach him as a new player, Altman and Menica found an effective way to harness Brooks' intrinsic energy.
Dillon has earned the respect of superstars
"To say that he acted recklessly outside the rules is an understatement. But his goal is firm - it is calculated. "He's smart." Like ordinary people, emotions can overcome us. But for the most part, Dillon has mastered the scale of controlling emotions and how he can control them to the extent he wants. ”
Dillon is still distracted at times, including some well-known obvious mistakes, and in that round of 16 match, Dillon's Ducks beat the Blue Devils, Dillon's late 3-point shot and hit a shot in the early days of the victory, and he also received a warning from Duke's old coach K. Throughout his time at Oregon, Brooks was a thorn in the side of opposing fans — but he embraced the role.
"Even in Pac-12, he was a wicked man," Menica said. "Nothing motivates Dillon more than winning away games." Earlier this year, Mark Powys sent a message to the former player he treated like a son. He feared that Brooks would turn against the whole world and anger everyone in the alliance. Powys thinks he may have gone too far.
"Dillon, we need to calm down," Mark wrote. "We need to calm down the emotions." But Powys hesitated to press the send button. He reached out to Brooks' agent, Mike George — who co-founded CIA Bounce with McIntyre — to find out what he thought on the matter. But instead, George told him that the team just wanted Dillon to be that player.
While Brooks' blind mania may still be a curse — he was fined $35,000 for pushing a photographer after flying off the floor in March — he has made himself impossible to ignore.
Although Brooks has caused the ire of opponents and fans, his performance has also earned him the respect of some NBA superstars. Both Durant and Irving have praised his competitiveness. LeBron James calls him a player you can't disrespect, and Brooks could play him in Sunday's first-round playoffs. So that day, instead of blaming his former teammate, Powys sent him a message encouraging the NBA's biggest villain to continue doing what he had to do — just as Dillon Brooks made the world gnash its teeth.