Dillon Brooks is proud to see his "dawg" mentality impacting the Suns' play: "It shows that my energy is contagious"

Dillon Brooks has brought his dawg mentality to the Phoenix Suns, and he's proud to see his teammates embrace it, especially with the team producing strong results.

The 29-year-old wing player, known for his in-your-face attitude on the court and often viewed as villainous by opposing teams, spoke about it following their victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Brooks highlighted that despite the many challenges the Suns face in their ongoing campaign, it has brought him a lot of satisfaction that, by his example, they have remained resilient and determined.

"It does [make me proud]. It shows that my energy is contagious, makes guys go out there and be relentless, and I'm proud of those guys. We're turning around the organization real fast, and we're winning games,"said the University of Oregon product.

"And it comes from not only me, but with Book's (Devin Booker's) leadership, with the front office: BG (Brian Gregory), JB (Josh Bartelstein), Paul [Rivers], and Mat [Ishbia] making those calls and making those moves. So even though we've got guys down and out, we've got heart, we've got, like you said, we've got a bunch of dawgs and we play hard every single night," he added.

Integral part of this team

Brooks descended on Phoenix, along with high-flying Jalen Green, in the offseason from Houston following a seven-trade deal that sent Kevin Durant to the Rockets.

And it did not take long for him to become an integral part of the team in The Valley on both sides of the court. Brooks is the team's second-leading scorer with 21.4 points and the steals leader with 2.0 per game through the 11 games he has played to date. He has also added 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31 minutes of action.

But more than the numbers, the energy and intensity he has brought to the Suns' locker room are proving to be vital in their campaign, which for the most part has seen them play undermanned, with injuries hitting key personnel.

It's a part of their journey that Ryan Dunn, the Suns forward, says shouldn't be overlooked.

"I always say he's crazy when he walks around, sometimes when he plays, but just to have that person not only on the court but off the court, is really meaningful," Dunn shared. "He sets the tone early for us, just trying to make sure that we're in the right headspace."

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Battling Suns

That victory over the Spurs was the Suns' third in a row, moving them to 11–6 and into sixth place in the West. Still, they stumbled in a matchup against those same Rockets on Monday night. The record runs in contradiction to what many pundits and observers saw as a team going through a revamp and looking to move past its Durant phase.

Booker has been a true leader for Phoenix, delivering team-highs of 26.9 points and 7.1 assists while shooting on a 47.2% clip. More importantly, he has been healthy and has not missed a game so far.

Grayson Allen has also stepped up, with Mark Williams, Jordan Goodwin, Dunn and Royce O'Neale steady for the most part. Collin Gillespie has been a pleasant surprise off the bench, effectively facilitating continuity. Still to look forward to is Green, who showed how valuable he can be in the two games he played before re-aggravating his hamstring injury.

Brooks rounds out things for them on the floor to make it a packed attack for the Suns. And with the way things are shaping up, as long as he brings the goods from his end and continues to be a dawg for his team, Phoenix should stay on stable footing to handle things as the season progresses.

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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 25, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.