If Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks is known for anything, it’s for his elite trash talk.
His ability to get under opposing players’ skins is a trait that gets him into hot water with referees (he’s the league leader in technical fouls drawn this season), has created a heated rivalry with future Hall of Famer LeBron James, and it’s even one that’s drawn praise from rival Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic.
In a piece written for The Players’ Tribune, Brooks calls his trash-talking ability “the dark arts.” It’s another tool at his disposal on the court to get in opponents’ heads and rattle them on the mental side of high level competition.
“That’s the dark arts. That’s what I learned just from playing every day at the Y, and really from my whole journey all the way up. Being my size, and playing the role I do, I had to look for every little edge,” Brooks wrote. “Over the years, I kind of developed it into a science.”
Brooks goes on to write that he had “little dossiers” on opponents during his time spent to start his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies. So, it’s not really a surprise why his teammate Collin Gillespie labeled him “crazy” (in a good way). His rivalry with LeBron shows that no player is off limits, but he did pull the curtain back on the one NBA talent immune to his signature “dark arts.”
Dillon Brooks says Kawhi Leonard is immune to his trash talk
“The only guy that never reacted was Kawhi. He was my white whale,” Brooks wrote.
“Nothing ever worked. He paid it no mind.”
Given what fans have seen over the years with Leonard’s demeanor, it’s not exactly a surprise that he’d be the lone player Brooks calls upon as being immune to his smack talk. Kawhi’s stoic, business-like stature on the court has always made him a silent assassin who lets his game do the talking for him.
Brooks even shed light on the wild lengths he went to to try and get a rise out of Leonard.
“I think I tried pinching Kawhi one time, for real,” he wrote. “He’d just look at you, like, ‘Play basketball, bro.’ I’d be thinking, Alright, damn. You might be right. What’s the point?”
Leonard is a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Star, but he can now officially add “immune to dark arts” to his long list of career accolades.
In four games played against Brooks and the Suns this season, Leonard is averaging 26 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest to accompany a +12.5 plus/minus. He’s been characteristically great against Phoenix, but the Suns have held him to just 22.2% shooting from 3-point territory this season, so there’s that.
As it stands, the Suns would be set to play Kawhi and the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA’s play-in tournament as the No. 7 vs. No. 8 seed.
If that happens, there’s now added intrigue to the matchup between Brooks and Leonard that should be appointment viewing for fans.