Dillon Brooks is trying his hardest to be The Joker, but unfortunately he is coming across as the Jared Leto version.
Brooks went full Dillon Brooks during his preseason debut for the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. He got ejected in the first quarter for tapping Indiana Pacers big man Daniel Theis in the groin (video here). Brooks was handed a flagrant 2 foul for the play, ending his night after just five scoreless minutes of action.
After the game, Brooks was asked by reporters about the sequence that led to his ejection. In response, Brooks decided to christen himself with an extremely cheesy new nickname.
“What’s the name? What’s my name? [I’m] ‘Dillon the Villain,'” Brooks said.
Dillon Brooks full post game interview:
"Whats the name? What's my name? Dillon the Villain."
📺 https://t.co/qJwFZ9k0g2 pic.twitter.com/llwV2oEhXy
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) October 11, 2023
Brooks would then go on to give a ridiculous explanation for his ejection (which you can read in full here).
Going out of your way to label yourself as a villain when you are essentially a role player who has not really accomplished very much yet in the league is … well, pretty wack. It is one thing if, say, 2012 LeBron James wants to take on a role as the villain. But for 2023 Dillon Brooks to do so doesn’t exactly hit the same.
Brooks still wins at the end of the day since he secured a staggering payday from the Rockets this offseason, seemingly against all odds. But it feels like everything that Brooks says these days makes NBA fans roll their eyes right out of their sockets.
