Dillon Brooks was in the crowd Monday night at Crypto.com Arena as the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder for Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Amazon Prime broadcast caught Brooks sitting courtside while LeBron James stood at the free throw line, a quick shot that instantly brought back a rivalry that has followed Brooks across multiple stops. Brooks and James have crossed paths before, first during Brooks’ time with the Memphis Grizzlies and again this past season with Phoenix.
This one mattered because the people on the floor had more at stake than the man in the seats. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort, both teammates of Brooks on Team Canada, were in position to clinch their second consecutive trip to the Western Conference Finals with a Game 4 win. Brooks, meanwhile, was watching playoff basketball as a spectator after the Phoenix Suns were eliminated from the postseason.
That made his presence at the arena feel less accidental than familiar. Brooks was a major part of the identity and culture shift Phoenix experienced this past season, and his appearance fit the Suns’ recent habit of rooting against the Lakers. The old tension with James also carries a practical edge for Brooks, who is extension-eligible this upcoming offseason and could become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he is not extended before then.
The matchup on the court belonged to the Thunder and the Lakers. But the sight of Brooks in the building was a reminder that some rivalries do not stay on the floor, and some follow a player from team to team long after the final buzzer.
