Dillon Brooks and LeBron James is not quite Batman and The Joker, but the pair have a history of going toe-to-toe in the NBA.
James has ultimately always come out on top, but Brooks showing up court side to watch LeBron get swept out of the playoffs proved he lights a fire under the Canadian like nobody else.
Having LeBron in the league gives Brooks competitive edge to win
You might think that Brooks being in Los Angeles as the Lakers met the same swift end as his Phoenix Suns was a coincidence, but you would be wrong.
Here is a guy in Brooks who could have gone on vacation, or been literally anywhere else in the world, but instead paid money to sit under the basket and literally laugh at James.
That's a level of petty we didn't see from him in his first season in Phoenix, instead it was those unwanted techs that he graced Suns fans with.
Brooks also came out in the aftermath of the Lakers going home and said he didn't think it was LeBron's last season in the league, and that is surely in part because he does not want it to be.
The 30-year-old already brought a will to win during the regular season that helped the Suns make the playoffs, but that manic edge we saw when he was with the Memphis Grizzlies had been kept under wraps.
No rival gets his competitive juices flowing like James, so having him around next year at a time when he will turn 42-years-old is perfect for Brooks.
Who better than "The Villain" to beat up on a guy who is no longer at the peak of his powers, and then brag about it.
If you actually pay attention to Brooks then you'll know he's much more self-aware than he lets on. Saying the Houston Rockets were right to trade him for Kevin Durant being one such example.
But he has this amazing ability to tap into a wrestling like "heel" character in order to unify the team he is on and make opponents and their fans root against him.
Brooks has always needed a North Star to continue trying to get the better of, and earlier in his career choosing James seemed insane.
It didn't work out then and it might not even now, but it is clear there is something about LeBron that gets Brooks out of bed in the morning.
As far as the Suns are concerned, long may it last.
Add us as a preferred source on Google