Dillon Brooks is Living a Dream With the Phoenix Suns

PHOENIX — It's wild how much a year's difference can make.

Last summer, expectations for the Phoenix Suns were near the bottom of the NBA's basement. Kevin Durant was dealt to the Houston Rockets while Bradley Beal was stretched-and-waived, decimating the once start-studded Suns lineup.

The key pieces from Phoenix's package back from Durant's deal all have shown glimpses of promise, though Dillon Brooks' presence in the desert has been an undeniable factor.

Brooks, a notorious nuisance but tough defender and team leader, hit a new career-high in scoring for the Suns last season, playing a massive role for Phoenix in their route to a surprise postseason appearance.

Brooks, appearing on the Road Trippin podcast, called being in Phoenix a dream come true.

"I'm loving it. I think it was a dream come true. It was kind of like a second coming to me. I feel like I left stuff on the table in Memphis with my all around game. Now, once I got traded, I felt like the opportunity was there again to seize it. But Phoenix has been great. Love the coaches. Love my players and the fans are exquisite," he said.

Full clip:

Dillon Brooks on playing for the Suns:

“I’m loving it. I think it was a dream come true… Love the coaches, love my players, and the fans are exquisite.”

(🎥 @RoadTrippinShow) pic.twitter.com/N4xAPLiPmm
— Booker Muse (@DevinBookerMuse) July 23, 2026

That love has certainly been reciprocated from the fan base, as fans have fully backed Brooks since the early stages of the season after he arrived with a reputation of being a villain.

For Brooks, that's no longer just a reputation, but rather a nickname — and badge of honor. Fans now can be spotted in Phoenix rocking "Villain" merch with Brooks' name and likeness on it.

When it comes to new goals ahead of 2026-27, Brooks wants to tone down his league-leading count of NBA technical fouls.

"My villain goal would probably be not to get 17 technical fouls in a season. We'll see if I can save them for the end," he said previously.

"At least half of them are earned. Some of them are by the same refs, and some of them I don't need to get. Costs my team some wins. So, you know, it's the energy that we live by, so some of them are called for to get your point across."

Thus far, it's been a happy marriage between Brooks and Phoenix. There's hope a contract extension will get done between the two sides to keep Brooks in the desert past next summer.

Add us as a preferred source on Google