Phoenix, AZ — Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks reignited his long-running rivalry with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Dec. 14, calling the four-time MVP a “social-media junkie” following a heated game at Mortgage Matchup Center.
The encounter featured several on-court exchanges between the two veterans, culminating in a second-half altercation that earned Brooks a technical foul. Throughout the night, Brooks was James’s primary defender, and officials were forced to separate the pair more than once.
Brooks’s postgame comments
After the contest, Brooks told reporters that James spends too much time monitoring online reactions.
“I guess he’s a social-media junkie,” Brooks said, according to The Athletic’s Doug Haller. “He be all over the socials, so he be seeing what I’m saying. He thinks people should think a certain way about him or not say anything about him or play a certain way, and I’m not going to play that way. He gets in his moods or in his modes or whatever it is. I’m all for that.”
The remark echoes earlier trash talk in the teams’ first meeting of the season, a game in which James hit game-winning free throws to defeat Phoenix. Including playoff matchups, James now owns a 17-8 record against Brooks.
James stays the course
James has publicly brushed off Brooks’s verbal jabs, maintaining that he is merely competing and focusing on the Lakers’ objectives. The 21-year veteran has faced similar tactics throughout his career and has typically responded by keeping his attention on basketball.
The Suns and Lakers are slated to meet again later in the season, setting the stage for another potential showdown between the two outspoken forwards.
Source: Lakers Nation
