Dillon Brooks will be watching the Suns’ next game from the sidelines-not by choice, but by league mandate.
The NBA has handed Brooks a one-game suspension without pay after he picked up his 16th technical foul of the regular season, triggering the league’s automatic penalty. According to NBA rules, once a player or coach hits that 16-tech threshold, they’re suspended for one game. And it doesn’t stop there-every two techs after that means another game off, also without pay.
Brooks’ latest technical came with 6:37 remaining in the second quarter of the Suns’ 136-109 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday. It was a frustrating night all around for Phoenix, and Brooks’ emotions got the better of him-something that’s become a bit of a pattern this season.
He’ll serve the suspension on February 19 when the Suns travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs.
Brooks isn’t the only player walking the technical tightrope this season. The Lakers’ Luka Doncic sits at 13 techs, while the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart and the Warriors’ Draymond Green have 12 and 11, respectively. Stewart, notably, is already serving a separate seven-game suspension for his role in the recent Pistons-Hornets brawl.
For Brooks, this suspension is a reminder of the fine line between playing with passion and crossing into territory that hurts your team. The Suns will be without one of their key defensive pieces in San Antonio, and as the playoff race tightens, every game-and every player-counts.