Brooks Doubles Down in Sportsnet Interview

In an interview reported Aug. 24, 2023 and summarized by NBC Sports, Dillon Brooks reflected on the April 2023 Lakers-Grizzlies series and defended his prior comments and approach. Brooks said, "I feel like I always had him (LeBron James). I feel like that series was thrown upon me cause of the words that I say, but I’ve been saying things all year and we won 50 games," asserting that his trash talk was part of a season-long competitive posture rather than a personal vendetta [5]. Context: The interview occurred months after the playoff series and after the initial postgame taunts and Game 3 ejection had been widely reported. Brooks used the media opportunity to frame his earlier comments as consistent with his on-court persona and to push back on narratives that painted his remarks as mere disrespect. Immediate reactions: Reporters quoted Brooks' assertive phrasing and used it to explain why the April exchange remained part of his public identity. The comments were taken as a reaffirmation of the stance that had catalyzed the earlier incidents and as an indication Brooks would not publicly recant those remarks [5].

Brooks' Aug. 24, 2023 interview matters because it shows he remained comfortable owning the April 2023 taunts and the competitive posture that preceded the on-court ejection, underscoring that the initial exchange was not a one-off remark but part of a deliberate public approach to opponents [5]. That public stance informed later coverage and expectations for interactions when Brooks later changed teams and faced LeBron again.

After the Sportsnet interview, Brooks' comments continued to be cited in retrospectives on the 2023 series and in previews of any future meetings with LeBron. The interview did not produce immediate on-court consequences; however, when Brooks later joined the Phoenix Suns and faced the Lakers in December 2025, media again referenced his August 2023 assertions to contextualize renewed taunting and in-game confrontations [5][9].