Dillon Brooks has made a habit of pushing boundaries with LeBron James, and calling him “old” was only the beginning. Their ongoing feud has turned into must-watch theater, with fans anticipating Brooks’ next provocation. The animosity feels deeply personal now, which makes it easy to forget there was a time when Brooks openly defended James against critics.

Well, that’s exactly how it started. As Brooks poked the bear in 2023, fans went deep into his Twitter archives, bringing back tweets from 2012. They prove that the Suns’ forward was willing to defend James, and even celebrated his first championship with the Miami Heat with absolute delight.

“’It’s about damn time’ the champion LeBron James,” one of his old tweets read.

Dillon Brooks also called James the “best player in the NBA” back then. And can you really hold that against the Phoenix enforcer? LeBron James has inspired a few generations after him to pick up the basketball and emulate his impact on the court.

Dillon Brooks fell in love with the way he played the game. But at 17, how would he know that James would be an obstacle in his way once he got to the NBA? Brooks may have used the Akron Hammer as a silhouette to pursue the game of basketball. But watching the game as a fan and being a competitor against one of your idols requires balance. That’s what Dillon Brooks has found.

Right now, the Suns forward is marching down his professional path. He refuses to focus on the names and the significance they might have held for him to get here. Fans might still troll him for once being a die-hard LeBron James fan. But that won’t deter him from evolving.

Dillon Brooks’ transformation from a fan to a competitor

That 2023 Lakers-Grizzlies playoff series might have been a vital point for Dillon Brooks. The entire NBA world, including Memphis, turned its back on him after he failed to back up his trash talk against LeBron James. He went silent after losses, but during that time, he also learned how to enhance his game.

In the NBA, looking up to somebody means that they have an edge on you. Brooks refuses to hand over that advantage to anybody. So for him to really become a player of his own, he had to climb that hurdle of being a LeBron James fan to being an irritant who gets under his skin. Brooks summed it up after their latest clash.

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“He likes people who bow down. I don’t bow down,” he told reporters.

You might argue that separating those feelings can be done nicely. Anthony Edwards does it with Kevin Durant, and they have manifested a close relationship. But every person is different. Dillon Brooks plays his character until the very end, and that’s helped him become a fine player for the Phoenix Suns.

Nobody saw them winning much after Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal left. But Brooks has turned those pre-season expectations around, averaging a career-high 21.2 points. His harboring of bitterness for James saw him drop 33 in a winning effort against the Lakers. So, if being this way helps his game evolve, Brooks chooses to go down that route.

At the end of the day, old tweets are history. They are part of Dillon Brooks. However, his focus is on creating a legacy by breaking down the NBA’s historic pillars. Whether he succeeds or not, time will tell. But for now, he’s flourishing with the Suns, contributing heavily to their 15-12 start. And you can bet all your money that the next time he sees LeBron James, Brooks will continue to poke him.