Dillon Brooks began his career with the Houston Rockets in the most Dillon Brooks way imaginable — getting ejected less than five minutes into his debut after receiving a flagrant 2 foul.
Starting at the wing for the Rockets, the Mississauga, Ont. native made his impression on their opening pre-season tilt against the Indiana Pacers right away. He dished out his first assist to former Raptor Fred VanVleet, then a minute later, was out of the game.
Hounding fellow Canadian Bennedict Mathurin, he got a bit overzealous trying to dodge under a screen set by big man Daniel Theis and ended up reaching his hand into Theis’ groin area, causing the centre to take a breather while grabbing at the region.
After the game, Brooks suggested that because of his history, he has a target on his back.
“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 game. “What’s my name? My name is Dillon the Villain.”
Brooks developed his negative reputation while with the Memphis Grizzlies. He racked up 44 technical fouls in the last three seasons, fourth most behind Draymond Green, Luka Doncic and Trae Young.
This also marks the seventh time in his career that he has been ejected, with the last coming in the playoffs against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, starting a notable beef between the two players during their Round 1 series.
Brooks has long embraced the villain role and made it clear that his persona hasn’t changed since joining the Rockets.
After the aforementioned series against the Lakers, the Grizzlies vowed to not bring back the Canadian, saying they wouldn’t bring him back “under any circumstances.”
His reputation for being unafraid to “poke the bear” didn’t scare away the Rockets from offering him a big deal as he landed a massive four-year, $86 million deal from the team looking to expedite their rebuild.
He finished last year averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.9 steals but also shot a poor 39.6 per cent from the field. However, he was a key contributor during Canada’s bronze medal run at the FIBA World Cup, averaging 15.1 points on a much improved 59.4 per cent from the field and 58.8 per cent from deep.