The NBA fined Memphis Grizzlies small forward Dillon Brooks $25,000 for violating the league’s media access policies during the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars announced Sunday morning.
Brooks did not make himself available to the media after all three of the Grizzlies’ road losses in Los Angeles.
Brooks made himself one of the series’ major storylines by disrespecting Lakers star LeBron James during his media session after the Grizzlies’ Game 2 home win.
“I don’t care — he’s old,” Brooks said when asked about a heated exchange of words between the two during that game. “I was waiting for that, I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5, he wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He shouldn’t have said that earlier on. I poke bears. I don’t respect anyone until they come and give me 40.”
Brooks was ejected 17 seconds into the second half of Game 3 when he was called for a flagrant foul 2 after hitting James in the groin area.
When Brooks spoke to the media after practice the next day, he complained that he had been portrayed as a villain by media and fans and suggested that it influenced the flagrant 2 call against him.
Brooks, a six-year veteran who is the longest-tenured player on the Memphis roster, struggled mightily in the series. He shot 31.2% from the floor and 23.8% from 3-point range despite the Lakers often scheming defensively to leave him open and clog the paint. He will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Unlike you little 🤬I’m a grown ass man
Big shoes to fill 🤬, grown ass pants
Prolly hustled with your pops, go ask your parents
Its apparent you’re staring at a legend
Who, put a few little 🤬in the they place before
Trying to eat without saying they grace before! 🤫👑— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 29, 2023
James, whose Lakers finished the series with a 125-85 win in Game 6 that marked the most lopsided loss in Memphis’ postseason history, made sure to get the last words on social media Saturday, quoting lyrics from Jay-Z’s “Trouble.”