Throughout his career, Steven Adams has played with numerous players and Al-Stars. Currently, on the Houston Rockets with Dillon Brooks, Adams went on to talk about the Canadian forward. Drawing similarities with Russell Westbrook, Adams revealed the amount the two are alike.
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The Rockets center made an appearance on The Morning Shift podcast. During the interview, Adams talked about his current teammates, prompting the question of what Dillon Brooks was like. And this is what the Kiwi had to say.
“He’s cool bro… super nice guy off the court. It reminds me of [Russell Westbrook] lowkey… everyone takes their on-court persona and thinks that’s how they are all the time… but it’s not, it’s a switch.”
Steven Adams on Dillon Brooks
“He’s cool bro… super nice guy off the court. It reminds me of [Russell Westbrook] lowkey… everyone takes their on court persona and thinks that’s how they are all the time… but it’s not, it’s a switch”
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Since his time with the Grizzlies, Brooks has been perceived as a villain in the NBA. His excessiveness on the defensive end and all the trash-talking has developed a certain image of the Canadian in the eyes of the fans.
And Brooks often reminds Adams of his former teammate and MVP, Westbrook. Brodie was a fierce competitor every time he stepped foot on the court. Jawing at other players and riling up the crowd, Adams felt that Brooks had the same persona as Westbrook.
However, Adams did go on to reveal how that was only their on-court personality. Both Brooks and Westbrook were highly competitive on the floor and were ready to get in anybody’s face.
But that wasn’t their whole personality. Just like Westbrook, Brooks had a completely different persona off the court. It may be hard to imagine but as per Adams, Dillon was a ‘nice guy’ off the court.
Brooks embracing the ‘villain’ image
Brooks’ villain arc started when he was playing for the Grizzlies. Their regular season and playoff matchups with the Lakers often drew out that side of Brooks on the floor.
He would often butt heads with LeBron James and other LA players, something the fans didn’t appreciate. His altercation with James in the 2023 Playoffs got him the tag of the “villain” around the league.
But contrary to popular belief, Brooks does not seem to mind being the bad guy.
The 6’6 forward has accepted that image created by fans and has gone on to embrace that role as well. All the hate Brooks receives from the opposing team’s fanbase seems to motivate him instead of bogging him down.
But it is also important to remember that he is not the same person as he is on the court in different aspects of his life.
