Dillon Brooks Quietly Having One of the Best Seasons of His Career

The Houston Rockets were back at the Toyota Center last night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 100-97 in another hard-fought game. Although the Rockets only scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, they came away with their 36th win of the season.

Despite the low-scoring fourth quarter and only shooting 34.3% from 3-point range, the Rockets had a couple of players who shot well, especially from downtown. Jalen Green, who finished with a team-high 25 points, shot 5-of-11 from beyond the arch, and Dillon Brooks shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

Tuesday night's 50% continued Brooks' upward trend in February from beyond the arch. Brooks is shooting 41.3% from a 3-point range, ranking second on the team. This should come as no surprise as Brooks is having a career year from downtown.

Brooks is shooting 39% from downtown, which is well above his previous mark of 37.5% in 2018-19. That is even more important considering the Rockets' struggles from 3-point range. Brooks has been the Rockets' best shooter all season long, and he has been even better in February.

Another impressive aspect of Brooks' improved shooting is that he is shooting more 3-pointers this season than any other season, at 6.1 per game. Brooks' 3-point shooting has been a key factor in the Rockets going from a .500 team last season to a top four seed in 2024-2025.

Brooks is having a career year from downtown and grabbing more rebounds this season than any other season in his career. After last night's eight-rebound performance, Brooks is averaging a career-high four rebounds a game.

Brooks has been even better in the last few games as he is averaging six plus rebounds a game in career-high tying three straight games. Brooks career year rebounding has played a part in the Rockets leading the NBA in rebounding all season long.

Brooks' next closest rebounding season was actually last season when he averaged 3.4 rebounds a game. Brooks has embraced Ime Udoka hard nose style when it comes to crashing the boards. Brooks has shown that he is willing to do all the dirty work that may not necessarily show up in the box score.

For Brooks, it's not just rebounding and 3-point shooting where he has career seasons; he also has his best season when it comes to turnovers. Even though Brooks has never had a season over two turnovers a game, he is averaging a career-low 1.0 turnovers in 2024-25.

For Brooks' entire career he has been known as a lockdown defender. His entire time with the Rockets he has been the defensive leader of the team. Even though his one-on-one defense has slipped slightly this season he is still one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA. One game he will guard Ja Morant and the next game guard Karl Anthony Towns.

When the Rockets signed Brooks to a four-year, $80 million deal, many in the NBA community believed the Rockets overpaid for him. Brooks was brought in to change the Rockets' culture from a young team with potential but didn't win a lot of games to a team that can compete not only for a playoff spot but eventually for a championship.

Now in his second season with the Rockets, Brooks continues to prove that not only is his contract a bargain, but he was one of the best signings of 2023, and is having one of, if not the best, season of his career.

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