Over his 23 years in the NBA, LeBron James has had many rivals who have tried to get under his skin. However, arguably, none of them have been as successful in recent history as Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks, a hard-nosed defensive specialist with erratic habits, someone who has consistently gotten a reaction out of the King. Now, Brooks has publicly addressed his tactics.

“If this was LeBron, maybe five years ago, then it’d be different,” Brooks said about James to Twitch streamer Agent during a recent appearance on his livestream. “Miami Bron, you’re not really talking shit to him for real, cause then it’s like, blow by, dunk. He’s got more game to him, more agile. Right now, he’s like, like I’ve always been saying, he’s old.”

For Brooks, it’s clear that trash talk is just one more tactic that he uses as a part of his defensive identity, and a situational way to disrupt rhythm and force opposing stars to engage with him emotionally. Whether that approach is criticized or lauded has never seemed much to matter to him.

With the Phoenix Suns, even as he experiences an increased offensive role, which averages career-highs across the board, Brooks’ defensive edge hasn’t softened. He presented his mindset as preparation, something he’s seen doing frequently before games, and a belief that every aspect of his opponent’s temperament and limitations factors into being able to stop them on defense.

“You can press up on him,” Brooks continued on James. “You can cut him off spots so you know his moves he’s going to do. So you can always chirp a little bit. For some reason, he likes to do a little chirping… I got like quick twitch back.”

The Game That Gave Dillon Brooks Proof of Concept Against LeBron James

When the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers met earlier this season, the tension between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks was evident throughout the game. Brooks drew the James assignment for most of the game, playing extremely physical, crowding his space, and talking throughout the night as the matchup felt almost playoff-like in its edge.

One key possession highlighted the double-edged approach of Brooks’ tactics. With just over 12 seconds left in the game, the Suns forward drilled a go-ahead three right in James’ face, seemingly validating his approach.

Almost immediately afterwards, James seemingly rolled over Brooks, resulting in a no-call, causing the two to get briefly entangled. Brooks was quickly assessed his second technical following this exchange and was ejected, a sequence that eventually snowballed into handing the Lakers a win from the late advantage.

Looking back, this game clearly reads as a real-time example of everything Brooks talked about on stream with Agent. He pressed up on James, cut off his preferred spots, leaned into constant chatter, and while James ultimately sealed the win late, the exchange highlighted why every matchup between the two is primetime.

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Brooks isn’t just challenging perhaps the greatest player in league history, but actively pushing the margins of engaging against superstars.