Dillon Brooks Anoints 'Villain Jr.' Title to Suns Guard

Brooks went further in depth on his decision to anoint Gillespie with this title after practice Saturday.

"He wanted that. He plays with a chip on his shoulder every single day. Talks a little s--- here and there, but he's a competitor. That's what it's about," Brooks said (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin).

Suns fans saw exactly why Gillespie could be given this nickname last season when he brought some life to a team that had very little going for them the last month of the season.

Gillespie's hard-nose play on both ends earned him his first NBA standard contract this summer with the Suns, which he has worked for since going undrafted in 2022.

Last year, Kevin Durant said this on Gillespie after Gillespie's breakout game on March 4 in which he scored all 10 of his then season-high in points in the fourth quarter to help the Suns pull off a 119-117 win over the Clippers, one game after Gillespie played no meaningful minutes in an 18-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves:

"I always love how Collin is poised, and he's a dog, he cares. He was one of the loudest in the locker room after the last game, and he didn't even contribute a minute to that disaster, and he came out and was pissed off after the game last game, so you can tell when he got another opportunity, he was going to make the most of it and go out there and play his game."

Going into the 2025-26 season, Gillespie, who was on the Denver Nuggets' 2023 championship team, is looking to learn from the experience from last season.

"Nobody likes to lose," Gillespie said (via Rankin). "Try to get back to winning ways, winning habits and kind of keep that and build the culture around that."

Dillon Brooks Helping to Change Culture of Suns

Brooks has been praised by teammates throughout the preseason for bringing a new level of effort and intensity, which has carried over to the rest of the team.

New coach Jordan Ott has lauded the team's ability to compete hard on both ends of the floor, and Brooks will help to spearhead this new identity, just as he did with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets.

Earlier in the day, Gillespie summed up Brooks' villain persona and what he brings to the table.

"He’s nuts. He’s a guy that you hate to play against and love when he’s on your team," Gillespie said of Brooks (via Rankin). "If you don’t know him, you probably think that he’s crazy, but he’s super chill off the court and then once he’s between the lines, it’s like, he has that ‘villain’ he’s got going and it’s like a switch inside his head. He’s a different person.”

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