MESA, Ariz. — They showed up in high-tops, all different colors, most with laces tied, but not all. Some were tall and springy enough to dunk, others so short they could barely get the basketball to the rims at the Arizona Athletic Grounds, a complex about 40 miles from downtown Phoenix.
They were budding villains, or at least that’s what could be reasonably assumed since they had chosen to spend this particular afternoon at the Dillon Brooks Youth Basketball Camp. Brooks, as dedicated fans know, is the NBA’s chief villain, a title he embraces, a 6-foot-7 forward who last season made his mark with the Phoenix Suns and became a fan favorite.
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Merriam-Webster lists three definitions of villain, all of which could be attached to the colorful Brooks: A character in a story or play who opposes the hero (LeBron James certainly would agree with this); a deliberate scoundrel or criminal (seems a little strong); one blamed for a particular evil or difficulty (Bingo!).
In this gym, no one cared.
Brooks, 30, has had an eventful offseason. In August, he signed a three-year extension with the Suns worth $73 million, securing a place in the team’s future. He recently spent 10 days in China, working with UFC fighter Li Jingliang and learning kung fu in the Wudang Mountains, an activity that should alarm NBA scorers and officials.
“I got to see a lot of new things and be knowledgeable in some things that I wanted to be,” Brooks said. “I was in a different city every single day. The people and the fans were great.”
Wouldn’t be a Dillon Brooks camp if it didn’t start with a staring showdown
(🎥: eliavgabay/TT) pic.twitter.com/eLmot6truQ
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) September 14, 2026
The Brooks camp stretched over eight courts, each offering a different drill for campers, who ranged in ages from 6 to 16. Joseph Harb, a 15-year-old from San Diego, said he drove six hours “just for this, bro.” He admired the toughness Brooks brought to the Suns and how he had “the guts to stand up to everyone,” skills required for villainy.
At one station, Rodney Johnson watched as his 11-year-old son Braydon learned elbowing in the post without getting caught and other ways to get under an opponent’s skin. (Actually, this is a slight exaggeration: Young Braydon ran basic drills and played two-on-two.) The Johnsons drove an hour and 15 minutes from the other side of the Valley of the Sun to be here.
“We love Dillon,” said Rodney, who wore a black Brooks T-shirt he had received at a previous Brooks event. “Everybody says he’s a villain, but sometimes that’s what you need.”
But did Rodney like Brooks before he came to the Suns?
“Absolutely not,” he said with a laugh.
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Brooks has earned his reputation. Over a nine-year career, he has delivered hard fouls that have led to injuries and cheap shots that have led to flagrant fouls. Last season, he was slapped with a league-high 17 technical fouls, including one as he sat on the bench in street clothes. He also was fined $35,000 for unleashing inappropriate language at officials in a November game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Across the league, the annoyance for him runs deep.
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“Hey, every team needs a villain,” said Salomon Silverio as he watched his 10-year-old son run a pass-and-cut drill. “Plus, he brings that defensive mentality that every team needs. You would hate to play against him.”
The best villains are complex. This is why so many actors love to play them in movies. In sports, people may respect a true villain, but they loathe a fake tough guy, an insult critics, hardwood or keyboard, often lob at Brooks. Not that he cares.
“As a human being, you have good, and you have a little bit of bad, a little bit of villainy,” said Brooks, coming off a season in which he averaged a career-best 20.2 points for the Suns. “It’s always in moderation, but I feel like people kind of resonate with that. A villain doesn’t have to be always bad. There’s good in it, as well. It’s the hard work. It’s the relentlessness to be the best at what you want to be, and I try to instill that in myself and try to showcase it in a different way.”
In the literary world, the best villains are those who make readers feel something more than hatred. Per a 2017 blog post from NY Book Editors: “Creating an all evil, all of the time character will fall flat. The most fearsome, formidable foes are round characters living out their own lives. They may do horrible things, but they also have tender moments, even if it’s tucked into their backstory.”
The China trip is part of the Brooks backstory. So was this camp. When a slimmed-down Brooks* first walked into the gym, while the 350 campers chanted his name, he stopped and stared — a breathing/focus exercise he does before games, something he took from former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson. Then he ran through the campers and gave them high fives.
(*Told that he looks lighter, Brooks said any weight loss was not done purposely, and he would add a few pounds now that he’s back in the States. NBA training camps begin later this month. “I feel great,” he said.)
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Brooks once participated in something like this. Growing up in Canada, he attended a Jamaal Magloire camp. A 6-foot-11 center, Magloire played 12 NBA seasons and, in 2004, made the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Brooks got a photo with Magloire, which he said “stuck with me a while.” It also made his NBA dream seem a little more within reach. He hoped his event had the same effect.
The camp was part of FlexWork Sports, which promotes its events as an experience, a chance to meet and mingle with star athletes. The drill stations were scripted, the last of which was run with Brooks. Campers passed him the ball, cut to the basket, caught a return pass and shot a layup or jump shot. Brooks had fun with this, dishing passes behind his back, applauding every make, offering encouragement after every miss.
A young girl with a blonde ponytail sank a short jumper. “Nice shot,” Brooks said, smiling. The girl did not smile back, a baller villain move. But minutes later, the groups rotated and Brooks called out to her with an extended hand. The girl slapped it.
As the event wrapped up, campers went one-on-one against Brooks. Damien Parmenter, a 16-year-old Suns fan from Oregon, pivoted at the top of the key as Brooks pressured him. Parmenter broke right, measured his steps and leaped to dunk. He missed, drawing a gasp from campers. As Parmenter hung on the rim, steadying his momentum, Brooks gave him a playful shove.
Once a villain, always a villain.