Phoenix Suns X-Factor For The 2025-26 Season - Dillon Brooks
Oct 16, 2025
The Phoenix Suns made a significant pivot after last year’s failed superteam experiment. With Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal now playing for the Houston Rockets and the LA Clippers, respectively, the void that they left was massive. However, that could be for the better as the 2025-26 version of the overhauled Suns roster now seems to have more balance, at least on paper.
One of the newest members of the new-look roster is Dillon Brooks. Known around the league and water coolers as "Dillon the Villain," Brooks represents the Suns' new identity. Rather than building around a couple of high-priced stars with little chemistry, management constructed a roster built on a blue-collar work ethic and defensive intensity. In Brooks, the team has a proven defender who plays with an edge (sometimes borderline questionable) and refuses to back down to anyone in the league, no matter their star status.
With an ability to guard multiple positions, Brooks’ aggressive, competitive mentality provides the Suns with an identity built on something other than star power, a role saved for Devin Booker. In a league that values versatility and two-way play, Brooks brings both traits to the Suns roster. Coming off a season in which he averaged 14 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 42% from the field and a career best 39% from downtown, Brooks is the prototypical 3-and-D type player, whose impact on the team isn’t always seen on the stat sheet.
Coming over from the Houston Rockets with Jalen Green and draft capital for Durant, the 29-year-old Canadian could be the Suns' X-factor this season as the team looks to return to being playoff contenders after missing the postseason last year. With Booker and Green focusing on the scoring load, Brooks will bring a different type of leadership, one of accountability. Not afraid to challenge teammates in practice, holding them to higher standards, Brooks' veteran presence will change the team’s culture, with all signs pointing to it being for the better.
