He’d been hyping up the announcement all training camp, and the Phoenix Suns and Dillon Brooks finally spilled the beans Friday afternoon: Collin Gillespie is “Villain Jr.”
With his pesky, physical and aggressive defensive style, Brooks was coined the nickname “Dillon the Villain” earlier in his career. Many have said that he’s the type of player that you love to have on your team, but you’ll despise him if he’s not on your squad. Brooks made
the All-NBA Defensive second team in 2023, helping lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their second straight two weed, but after he notoriously “poked the bear,” in LeBron James, as a lot of people like to say, he struggled and the Lakers upset Memphis in the first round.
Before being traded to the Valley this offseason in the Kevin Durant trade, Brooks helped the Houston Rockets return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-2020 season, playing as a starter, averaging 14 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal per game on 40% shooting from three. He’s made the playoffs in four of his last five seasons.
While he didn’t play much until the end of last season, Gillespie was loved by Suns fans when he was on the court. His defining moment last year with the Valley was when he helped the Suns come back from 19 down in the fourth quarter to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in March.
He re-upped with the Suns this offseason and looks to build on his strong end to the season that got him a roster spot. Does his play style remind you of Brooks’? How do you see the two complementing each other?
