Suns Star Dillon Brooks Sends Shot at Thunder Ahead of Playoff Series

The Phoenix Suns' enforcer didn't mince words when it came to OKC.

Apr 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) celebrates a three point shot against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are in the playoffs, though they've got a tall order in terms of assignment.

The No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder await Phoenix for a first-round playoff matchup beginning on Sunday after the Suns clinched the eighth seed in last night's win over the Golden State Warriors.

Dillon Brooks, speaking with NBA on Prime's crew after the big win, was asked about the coming matchup against the defending champions.

He didn't mince any words.

"There are a lot of foul baiters on that team, so we gotta show our hands. I hope it's the real playoffs, [officials] be calling too many calls," Brooks said, before actually diving a bit more into the matchup.

"But show your hands, we have to follow the scout [scouting report]. Funnel them into the paint and be able to have our rotations proper because they shoot it great at home. There's a reason why they're the No. 1 team in the NBA so we're going to have our hands full with their driving but if our close outs and rotations are great, we'll be able to get them down lower into the shot clock and play our defense there."

Full clip:

Dillon Brooks on the Thunder:

"There are a lot of foul baiters on that team. We gotta show our hands. I hope it's the real playoffs. Show your hands"

🍿🍿🍿 pic.twitter.com/dFRrtn1fNz

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 18, 2026

The Thunder were actually middle of the pack in team free throws shot per game (17th in the NBA at 23.2) while Phoenix ranks near the bottom of the league at 28th (20.4 per game).

OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is third across the entire league in free throws attempted per game at nine, trailing just Luka Doncic (10.1) and Deni Avdija (9.2).

Suns star Devin Booker is fifth at 8.1 free throw attempts per night.

Oklahoma City are obviously favorites to advance, though the Suns might not make it easy. Phoenix won two of their five matchups against the Thunder this regular season and lost another by four points on the road.

The sledding won't be easy, though the Suns have clearly shown an ability to hang with OKC.

What this will ultimately come down to is head coach Jordan Ott's ability to adjust and make proper lineup decisions across a playoff series. The Thunder are by far the better team with more experience and have a clear blueprint to defeat Phoenix — what can Ott do to swing anything back into the Suns' favor?

That's ultimately up to him and his coaching staff.

Game 1 will be on Sunday in Oklahoma City.