Dillon Brooks had some new company in his pregame staredown on Dec. 8. The Houston Rockets forward stood still out of bounds staring at the baseline right behind the Denver Nuggets warming up.
Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray spotted Brooks and laughed at him before approaching. He appeared to say something to Brooks before joining him in the staredown briefly. Murray then took a moment to go back to warming up.
Finally caught a Dillon Brooks pregame staredown.
He is eventually joined by Jamal Murray. pic.twitter.com/Jf7IN0ObeU
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) December 9, 2023
Brooks and Murray are both Canadian and have spent time together playing on the national team.
The Rockets won the game 114-106. Brooks finished with 16 points and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes, while Murray had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 32 minutes.
Brooks is one of the more well-known self-embraced villains in the NBA. He once told reporters he didn’t care about LeBron James because he was old and he doesn’t respect anyone he guards until they score 40 points on him. Earlier this season, Steph Curry had a field day in celebrating on the court in Houston after making a few three-pointers in the fourth quarter because of the history of things Brooks has said to him and about his team.
The stare is Brooks’ latest tactic, which went viral when he did it on Nov. 8 in front of LeBron James during a game.
The Rockets won the first game Brooks stared down James, 128-94. James finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Brooks had 5 points and 4 rebounds in 25 minutes. The ritual became a pregame routine, as seen a few weeks later in Los Angeles.
LeBron doing a double take at Dillon Brooks pregame stare😂😂😂 Idk why but I feel like they’ll be boys in a few yrs pic.twitter.com/sN3voMwSTm
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) December 4, 2023
The Rockets lost the second time Brooks attempted the stare against Los Angeles, 107-97. James finished with 16 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Brooks had 10 points in 33 minutes.
