Dillon Brooks has been doing Dillon Brooks things ahead of the Phoenix Suns returning for training camp later this month, as he was recently spotted in the mountains of China tightening up his Kung-Fu game. We can only hope that it holds the key to Brooks receiving fewer technicals this season.
Brooks training body and mind ahead of new season
The Canadian isn't the first NBA player to turn to combat of some kind to keep his body in tune, and we are being facetious by suggesting his technical foul woes of last season will now vanish thanks to his stint in China.
The Villain mastering a new craft 🥋 pic.twitter.com/UIombu2Qgc
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) September 9, 2026
But Brooks has to do something to bring those calls against him down, and he can't complain about some of the technicals he did receive. Others were assigned to him because of the reputation he has, but if he could halve the 17 he had last year, it would surely help the Suns win a couple more games.
That number somehow does not represent a career high for the 30-year-old, as he had 18 of them back in 2022-23 with the Memphis Grizzlies. He followed that up with 15 and then 16 in his two seasons with the Houston Rockets, but Brooks is now old enough to know better.
Getting these technicals under control does come with some risk, however, as he toes the line nightly. It is the reason he has been so successful for whatever team he has played for. His trade value remains misunderstood, but the Suns and their fans know what they've got in Brooks.
Brooks must remain emotional leader no matter what
The Suns added a player in Miles Bridges this offseason who comes with plenty of baggage, while they continue to build for the future thanks to the arrival of rookie Koa Peat. Alongside Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Maluach, he forms part of what is hoped will be the next great Suns team.
They need a veteran like Brooks to lead the way, as he did last season by quickly giving Collin Gillespie the nickname "Villain Jr." before going on to have a career year and somehow end up being the Suns' best performer in the playoffs.
Brushing up on his Kung-Fu game is entirely on brand, and while you can be sure the technicals are going to flow once again this coming campaign, perhaps he will return with a more zen attitude than we have seen in the past.
Or not; this is Dillon Brooks we're talking about.
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