Dillon Brooks has wasted no time settling into his new lane with the Phoenix Suns, and by his own account, the bigger spotlight suits him just fine.
After arriving in Phoenix a year ago, Brooks has gone from being a familiar role player type with the Houston Rockets to a far more featured piece for the Suns. For most of the 2025-26 season, he was producing at a borderline All-Star level, a sharp shift from the version of Brooks many fans remember from his Memphis Grizzlies days as a 3-and-D wing with edge.
The defense and the attitude are still there. What’s changed is the scale of his responsibility, and the way he’s attacking it.
Brooks averaged 20.2 points for the Suns last season, stepping into a larger offensive load while Booker and Green missed time with injuries. Even with those absences, Phoenix kept rolling through the regular season.
That run carried the Suns into the Playoffs, where they ran into the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The result was a sweep, but the bigger picture still marked a major shift for the franchise after the Kevin Durant trade brought Brooks and Green to Phoenix. The Suns reached the Playoffs this time after failing to do so with Durant the previous season.
Brooks says the fit has felt natural from the start.
"I'm loving it. I think it was like a dream come true.
It's kind of like a second coming for me. I feel like I left a lot of stuff on the table in Memphis with my all-around game.
Now, once I got traded, the opportunity was there... The fans are exquisite like that," Brooks said on The Road Trippin Show.
For the Suns, the appeal is obvious. Brooks, Green, and Booker give Phoenix its core, and there’s also a layer of younger talent waiting behind them. Khaman Maluach and Koa Peat are among the names on the roster who look promising for the long-term picture.
In Other News...
Suns Offseason Progress Came With A Tradeoff Fans Will Feel
Phoenixs offseason brought a little more stability than splash, with Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin all back in the fold and Koa Peat, Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard joining the mix. ESPN rewarded that work by nudging the Suns up in its latest NBA power rankings, a small but meaningful bump that reflects both last seasons competitiveness and the front offices effort to keep the roster from slipping further.
Miles Bridges is the headliner among the newcomers, and the Suns are also hoping for a healthier version of Jalen Green after a hamstring issue wrecked his first season in Phoenix. Even so, the roster still has some familiar questions hanging over it, especially when it comes to balance and the kind of guard play that can steady a team over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Already Facing Big Miles Bridges Question After Bold Trade
Miles Bridges is already giving the Suns a new kind of offseason dilemma, because the trade that brought him over from Charlotte looks like more than a one-year rental. Phoenix moved to add the power forward with an eye on what comes next, and league chatter has already turned to whether the team wants to keep him around long term after this upcoming season. General manager Brian Gregory has publicly highlighted Bridges competitiveness and energy, while Bridges has said his focus is on helping the Suns chase a championship.
The contract situation is what makes this so interesting for Phoenix. Bridges is on an expiring deal, which means the Suns have to decide quickly whether this is just a bold swing for immediate help or the start of a deeper commitment. After sending Royce O'Neale, Grayson Allen, and draft-pick swaps to Charlotte, the front office has made clear it sees real value here, and the next step will tell the story of how far it wants to go. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Ott Looks Like The Coach The Suns Desperately Needed
Jordan Otts first season in Phoenix gave the Suns something they had been missing for a while: stability with a clear identity. After a summer of low expectations, the team pushed its way back into the playoffs and did it with a top 10 defense, while also finding ways to fold new pieces into the rotation. Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams were among the additions that had to be absorbed on the fly, and Otts ability to keep the group organized through the inevitable bumps was a big part of why the season did not go sideways.
The bigger reason the year matters for Phoenix is that Ott appears to fit the structure above him as much as the roster around him. Brian Gregory and Mat Ishbia have been looking for a coach who can turn a perceived weakness into a strength, and Otts first run suggested that might be exactly what they found. The next test is whether that same approach holds when the roster changes again, especially with the Miles Bridges acquisition looming as the kind of move that can reshape the conversation fast. [Read more 🡒]