In case anyone was wondering, Canada's Dillon Brooks is still not afraid of LeBron James.
Ahead of Wednesday's matchup with James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooks once again called out the all-time great.
"Ready to lock him up," the Houston Rockets guard told reporters on Tuesday. "He's been shooting the ball well, he's been playing well. I'm just there to make him tired, make him get into that fourth quarter early."
The last time Brooks called out James, it didn't end so well for the Mississauga, Ont., native.
During the 2022-23 NBA Playoffs, Brooks made waves in the basketball world by going after James when he was a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Brooks and James got tangled up in Game 2 of a Round 1 series between the Los Angeles and Memphis Grizzlies. After the game, Brooks issued a challenge to one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
"I don't care — he's old. You know what I mean?" Brooks said post-game of the altercation with James. "I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."
The challenge ended up backfiring on Brooks, as James and the Lakers would go on to eliminate the Grizzlies in six games. Brooks then took some heavy abuse around the league for failing to back up his words.
But fear not, one failed playoff series wasn't going to change Brooks.
During Canada's run at the FIBA World Cup, Brooks proclaimed himself the "best perimeter defender" in all of basketball. Then, in his Rockets pre-season debut, Brooks was ejected four minutes into the game after receiving a flagrant 2 foul for contact to the groin area of Indiana Pacers forward Daniel Theis.
All of his antics have led to Brooks developing quite the reputation around the league, of which he is well aware, as he even gave himself a nickname.
"It's weird, every time it happens to me, I get picked on, but I guess it's just part of my reputation," Brooks told reporters after the pre-season ejection "What's my name? My name is Dillon the Villain."
What will Dillon the Villain have in store for LeBron and the Lakers Wednesday night? You can find out by watching the game live on Sportsnet+ at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
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