And-Ones: Brooks, Too-Early Preseason Takes, Sneed, Exum

Dillon Brooks is continuing his impressive FIBA streak, helping lead Canada to an 86-79 win over Greece in his team’s Olympic opener. He made a trio of three-pointers in the win off the heels of his impressive 2023 World Cup, where he averaged 15.1 points en route to top podium position in the event.

As Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews writes, Brooks pushes himself to another level in international play.

“I like to play for my country; it gives me a lot of passion to do so,” Brooks said. “For the game itself, you have to be 40 minutes attentive to detail. All those things add a lot more to a player, and I like the ball as well.”

Brooks also impressed on defense alongside Thunder wing Luguentz Dort. According to Urbonas, when that duo shared the floor, they outscored Greece by 23 points.

“I’m really proud of Dillon,” national team coach Jordi Fernandez said. “This is how it looks when they let Dillon Brooks play. And it’s just not about the defensive end. With Lu Dort, he’s the best perimeter in the World Cup. But he’s extremely efficient offensively.”

Brooks said he didn’t care if his international play changed how NBA fans felt about him.

We have more from around the basketball world:

• Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic share the honor of having the same odds for Most Valuable Player next season, but Anthony Edwards is a dark horse for next season, Jason Jones of The Athletic writes. Zach Edey is currently the favorite for Rookie of the Year, over top-two picks Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, but Cody Williams is someone Jones believes may be getting overlooked. Jones talks through all the major awards and some teams he does or doesn’t believe in.
• Former NBAer Xavier Sneed signed with Bnei Herzliya Basket, a team in Israel, the club relays in a release (Twitter link). Sneed played 13 games across two seasons on two-way or 10-day contracts with the Hornets, Grizzlies and Jazz. He’s scored 22 points in 87 total minutes at the NBA level.
• As we relayed Sunday, Australian guard Dante Exum seemed to be nearing a return from a right index finger injury. Boomers coach Brian Goorjan confirmed as such, stating that he expects Exum to return on Tuesday, according to Fox Sports’ Matt Logue (Twitter link).