The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten two up close and personal looks at Dillon Brooks during the month of December. Both of those offered a unique look at one of the NBA's most polarizing players.
On Dec. 1, Brooks led the Phoenix Suns in scoring, pocketing 33 points to help lead his team to a decisive 125-108 win over the Lakers. On Dec. 14, the Suns wing nearly sunk the shot to punctuate a massive comeback for Phoenix. Unfortunately for Brooks, his celebration got him a tech, and the Lakers walked away with the tight 116-114 win.
In case two times in one month was not enough, the Los Angeles will be on the road against Phoenix on Dec. 23 as well, offering one more matchup with the NBA's most notorious man of shenanigans. Someone who has already seen enough to have a firm stance on Brooks is Rich Paul.
Paul said on a recent episode of his podcast: "If there's a team out there that can go and get Dillon Brooks, that actually has a chance to win a championship, they should. ... You want that guy on your team. ... He's a guy that you probably don't want to play against."
Dillon Brooks makes sense for the Lakers in a way most won’t like
After going head-to-head with Brooks in a spirited effort, one would think LeBron James may have had enough of him after the night was over. Surprisingly enough, his words after the game were not all too unkind to the man most would call a villain.
Lance and Joakim dreamed of getting under his skin this bad😭 https://t.co/lNc75aPp8a
— Kenny (@Kennyduhballern) December 15, 2025
James told Dave McMenamin, “He's going to compete. I'm going to compete. We're going to get up in each other's face. Tried not to go borderline with it. I don't really take it there. But we just competed. And did that almost all the way to the end of the game."
The Lakers made it clear this past offseason their goal was to build around Luka Doncic moving forward. If that were not the case, one would be forgiven for thinking both Paul and James could be of the opinion that Brooks' competitiveness would help Los Angeles.
For whatever it is worth, the Canadian would fit the description of what the Lakers are reportedly eyeing ahead of the trade deadline. Brooks is not only a 3-and-D upgrade, but at 29 years old also fits the age range rumored to be preferable alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Would the Suns even want to give him up in the first place may be the real question. Phoenix has exceeded expectations with Brooks in the mix this season. It may be a tough conversation for the Lakers, should they want to try and pry him away.