Dillon Brooks Trolls ‘Old’ LeBron James After Memphis Grizzlies Win: ‘I Poke Bears’

Ahmad Austin Jr.Apr 20th, 2023, 3:31 pm
 

Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks has no issue taunting the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

After the Grizzlies secured an improbable win against the Los Angeles Lakers without star guard Ja Morant, Brooks used the moment to let everyone know that handling LeBron James isn’t a difficult task.

Before the playoffs, Brooks was excited about the possibility of playing the Lakers so he could end James’ season himself. Then, in game 2, Brooks came face-to-face with James on multiple occasions as the shorthanded Grizzlies pulled away for the win.

When asked about the possibility of angering James and provoking him to play at an even higher level, Brooks said he wasn’t concerned.

“I don’t care, he old,” Brooks said at his locker. “I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should’ve been saying that earlier on.

“I poke bears. I don’t respect no one ’til they come and give me 40 (points).”

As noted by ESPN’s Tim McMahon, James finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds. In this series, he’s shooting 7 of 14 with Brooks as his primary defender. Before this playoff series, James faced Brooks in 11 regular season games, averaging 25.2 points per game.

Brooks said when the two players exchanged words, he told James that he can’t score on it.

“I just let him know that, ‘You can’t take me one-on-one. You haven’t,'” Brooks said. “You go look at the film. He doesn’t really take me one-on-one until that moment.”

He then doubled down on his comments about LeBron being past his prime.

“He’s not at the same level that he was when he was on Cleveland winning championships, Miami,” Brooks said of James. “I wish I got to see that. It would have been a harder task, but I’m playing with what I’ve got.”

The series will continue with Game 3 in Los Angeles on April 22.

Watch above via Twitter.

Tags: