‘He’s Just Like Kobe, MJ’: Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks Respects Mavs Star Kyrie Irving

Dillon Brooks has a reputation for being an irritant on and off the court for the Memphis Grizzlies, but he showed major respect to Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving after Monday’s game.

A little more than a week ago, Memphis Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks had some strong words for Kyrie Irving when he thought the Dallas Mavericks star point guard would be making his return to action against him.

“Now I can get him by myself today, so I want to see what he’s all about,” Brooks said about potentially guarding Irving. “He had a couple of words for me in Brooklyn, so I can’t wait to pick him up full every time and see him get exhausted.”

Irving ultimately didn’t play in that March 11 matchup, and the shorthanded Mavs lost to the Grizzlies 112-108 at FedExForum. Fast forward 10 days later, and Brooks finally got his chance to guard Irving one-on-one, and the Grizzlies, yet again, won 112-108 on their home floor after erasing a 16-point third-quarter deficit.

Irving finished with a team-high 28 points, but shot just 10-24 from the field, including a career-worst 0-8 in the fourth quarter. As much as Brooks might want to credit his own defense for Irving’s uncharacteristic final period, though, it was Irving re-aggravating his foot injury in a third-quarter collision with Brooks that changed the game.

Irving missed three consecutive games due to foot soreness before returning for Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He was seen wearing a walking boot for “precautionary” measures after Monday’s game, but he still hopes to play in Wednesday’s huge matchup with the Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Center.

After the Mavs and Grizzlies wrapped things up, Brooks wanted to swap jerseys with Irving — a sign of respect for the eight-time All-Star. Irving gave up his jersey, but didn’t accept Brooks’ jersey in return, almost as if to say ‘you’re not on my level, kid.’

That snubbing didn’t keep Brooks from giving Irving ultimate praise, though. 

“He’s just like Kobe. He’s just like Jordan and those guys,” Brooks said. “He plays the game at a different pace. He uses both hands, mid-range God. And that’s where I want to be at one day, be able to shoot the ball more.”

Brooks can be an irritant on and off the court at time, but it’s nice to see that, aside from all the trash talking, he still has a healthy respect for those above him on the NBA totem pole. He got the better of Irving this time around, but there could be more duels in the near future, as a Mavs-Grizzlies first-round playoff series is a real possibility with 10 games remaining.

"I'll probably get it next time,” Irving said of not taking Brooks’ jersey. “Not this time. I was really onto the next thing, my thought process."

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