Remember DeMarcus Cousins? The man they called "Boogie" was a dominant force in the NBA for a time, it was just a shame much of his career was spent languishing with the Sacramento Kings.
He was also a physical and at times volatile player on the court, and he got into his fair share of mix-ups with rival teams and officials alike.
Dillon Brooks joins Cousins with unwanted technical foul record
Cousins is no longer in the league, but in some ways Dillon Brooks has felt like his emotional successor, and he now shares an unwanted record with him as well.
Dillon Brooks is the first player to reach 16 technical fouls & trigger a suspension before the All-Star break since DeMarcus Cousins in 2017. https://t.co/ub7260ZSoS
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) February 12, 2026
We know Brooks is going to miss the game against the San Antonio Spurs having picked up his 16th technical foul of the campaign versus the Oklahoma City Thunder just before the All-Star break.
But in doing so he has become the first player since Cousins back in 2017 to amass 16 technicals and so get suspended before the midseason exhibition has taken place. That's rough.
The Suns need Brooks to be at his best for the remainder of the regular season if they hope to make the postseason, and having him miss games for reasons like this doesn't help.
Coming at it from a positive angle however, which we will admit is tough, and at least Brooks won't have the lingering threat of suspension hanging over him.
Let's be honest, he's likely going to get more before the regular season is out. His style of play and the reputation he has with the officials means this is a guarantee.
Really there is no shame in being linked to Cousins in this way either, as the league needs players who approach the game they way they do and the Suns especially love Brooks for it.
They've got the 10th best defense in the league this season in large part because of his presence on the court, while his intensity (who can forget getting technicals and stitches during training camp) won The Valley over immediately.
His style of play had him in the conversation to be an All-Star this season, and to see him go against a pair of USA teams would have been a lot of fun. Maybe next year.
You can give Brooks no greater compliment here, than the fact the Houston Rockets have lost that same edge since they traded him away for Kevin Durant.
The technicals and being compared to Cousins are part of the package, and the Suns gladly signed up to that long ago.