Dillon Brooks Talks Like Jimmy Butler While Playing Like Ricky Davis

Consider, please, the stat lines for the following three NBA players, who have been anonymised for the purposes of a comparison.

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UNNAMED PLAYER A

• 14.3 points per game
• 3.3 rebounds per game
• 2.6 assists per game
• 0.9 steals per game
• 0.2 blocks per game
• 39.6% shooting
• 32.6% three-point shooting
• .443 three-point rate
• .155 free throw rate

UNNAMED PLAYER B

• 14.3 points per game
• 2.6 rebounds per game
• 3.8 assists per game
• 0.8 steals per game
• 0.3 blocks per game
• 39.8% shooting
• 30.6% three-point shooting
• .605 three-point rate
• .092 free throw rate

UNNAMED PLAYER C

• 10.4 points per game
• 3.4 rebounds per game
• 2.9 assists per game
• 0.9 steals per game
• 0.2 blocks per game
• 37.4% shooting
• 30.6% three-point shooting
• .553 three-point rate
• .162 free throw rate

The introduction to and header image of this article would not make much sense unless one of these three players were Dillon Brooks, and indeed, one is. Player A is the 2022-23 regular season production of the Memphis Grizzlies swingman who has made many headlines and fewer friends this postseason through his braggadocios claims before games that he then did not back up on the court, as his Grizzlies side lost 4-2 in the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

Do players B and C occupy as much of the discussion space around the league as Brooks has, or did they ever? No, not really - player B was a 27-year-old Dion Waiters, playing for the Miami Heat in the 2017/18 season, while player C was Cedi Osman of the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2020/21.

The inefficiencies elucidated by the numbers above are not anomalous for Brooks, either. Instead, they are entirely in keeping with his career marks - a 41.6% career shooter alongside 34.2% from three-point range, Brooks has only once surpassed a .515 true shooting percentage, back in his rookie season.

For context, the NBA's average true shooting percentage at the wing positions is .573. And while the 2022/23 three-point rate was up on his career .371 mark (and far ahead of his 2021/22 .283 rate), it is still representative of a wing player whose offensive style suggests he has more scoring talent than he does.

It is not that Brooks cannot shoot. Instead, it is that he keeps trying. A noted play-breaker, Brooks wants to be known for his fearlessness, as evidenced by all the chirping about his defensive prowess. Yet that same fearlessness carries over to the offensive side, and it results in bad shot attempts. Quite a lot of them, to be honest.

Offensive fearlessness should be a virtue, and something that results in more than a slightly more aggressive Cedi Osman. Yet once again, here we are. Brooks tries to do too much for himself and too little for others, and it is no wonder that advanced metrics have not flattered him, ever. For his NBA career, Brooks has -1.3 offensive win shares, and a career Value Over Replacement Player rating of -4.6. Never once in any individual season has he ranked positively in that category.

Intangibly, there is definitely something to be said for fearlessness. Even when it strays into recklessness, fearlessness is better than timidity, and Brooks is always ready to take on the challenge (even if not always as ready to speak to the media about it afterwards). Sometimes, a team just needs someone who wants to get a bucket, or check the opposing star, mismatched be damned. On both ends of the court, by virtue of thinking he is better than he is, Brooks can make himself better than he is.

That only works up to a point, though. Beyond that point, Brooks becomes a detriment rather than a benefit. The reputation for defensive effort outstrips the results, and the Ricky Davis-esque calling of his own number is getting worse rather than better. Wanting it is important, but wanting it is not enough.

Barring him signing an extension between now and 30th June, Brooks is heading into unrestricted free agency this offseason. Rather than riding a wave of momentum, though, his shot selection and self-positioning as an antagonist may have cost him a lot of money.