As the reigning MVP and a reigning NBA champion, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knows a thing or two about what it takes to win at the highest level of competition.
Ahead of losing a thriller of a game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, Jan. 4, SGA praised Dillon Brooks for how he impacts games.
'He affects winning,' SGA said of Dillon Brooks
“Dillon’s one of the best teammates I’ve had,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Brooks and SGA were teammates on team Canada in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Canada would ultimately win the bronze medal in that tournament by defeating the United States 127-118.
SGA was predictably brilliant in that game, scoring 31 points to accompany 12 assists and six rebounds, but it was Brooks who scored a game-high 39 points in a game-high 42 minutes while dishing out five assists, grabbing four rebounds and blocking two shots. He made 7-of-8 of his 3-point attempts and 12-of-18 field goals overall in Canada’s win.
“I appreciate him more because he can flip that switch and do whatever it takes to win games,” SGA said.
Brooks scored 22 points in the Suns’ win over the Thunder.
As the Suns continue to defy expectations this season with a 21-14 record at the time of writing, Brooks’ impact on changing the culture in Phoenix is palpable.
The Suns finished 10 games under .500 a season ago without Brooks. With him aboard, they’re seven games over .500. While there’s plenty of season left to play, that continues a trend for Brooks that SGA noted when speaking about his fellow Canadian.
“Everywhere he’s gone in this NBA, they’ve seemed to catch a stride and he’s turned around a franchise,” the MVP said. “So, it’s no coincidence. He’s a good player, he affects winning.”
That track record extends beyond what Brooks has done for the Suns so far in 2025-26. After being traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Houston Rockets as part of a five-team trade in July 2023, Houston likewise saw a remarkable turnaround.
After finishing the 2022-23 season with a dismal 22-60 record, the Rockets flipped the script the following year with Brooks (and new head coach Ime Udoka) to finish 41-41 — a 19-win improvement.
Suns fans are getting a front-row seat to the Dillon Brooks show. Known as a defensive pest who gets under the skin of his opponents, Brooks’ impact on winning tends to get overshadowed by his reputation as a hothead a la Draymond Green.
But there’s more than enough evidence now that Brooks deserves credit for contributing to winning cultures in Memphis, Houston and, now, Phoenix.
The fact that the MVP of the league is giving “The Villain” his flowers only helps prove that point.
SGA called Brooks a “great person” who’s “easy to talk to” before saying that “as crazy as he is on the court, he’s the complete opposite, to me, at least (off the court).”
In a league where building a culture is tantamount to winning with consistency, the Suns couldn’t have targeted a better player to get in return for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant.