Memphis Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks is turning into an NBA star

Before the Memphis Grizzlies 2020-21 season began, who would you have listed among the stars on this team? Ja Morant is the easy answer, and in all likelihood, you may have listed Jaren Jackson Jr. next to him, even if he was set to miss most of the season.

For a lot of fans, everybody else was just part of the team’s supporting cast.

And at the start of the season, that held true. The Grizzlies lost their first game in a close finish, with Morant scoring 44 points, a total that is still his highest of the year.

After that, it looked like the Morant show with guest appearances from players like Kyle Anderson, Dillon Brooks, and Jonas Valanciunas. But at some point, this team morphed into one of the deepest, if not, the deepest, team in the NBA.

Memphis Grizzlies G/F Dillon Brooks has emerged as a late-season star

Down the stretch in the 2021 season, the Grizzlies looked like they had lost a bit of their juice. The team couldn’t finish with consistency at the end of important games and dropped a couple of tough ones that could have gone a long way for their playoff seeding.

Rightfully, fans were worried that this team didn’t have the heart to make an NBA Playoff run. But they’d prove those fans wrong.

A lot of players can be thanked for the Grizzlies’ recent success in the play-in tournament and first game against the Jazz. Ja Morant has played some of his best basketball of the season, stepping up late in each elimination game. Kyle Anderson’s leadership abilities have shown up in every single game. Jonas Valanciunas has been an anchor.

But none of these guys have been the heart and soul of this team.

That honor goes to Dillon Brooks, a player who has stepped up as the hardest worker on the Memphis Grizzlies roster. Brooks has always had the most confidence on the team but playoff Brooks has been an entirely different monster.

Against the San Antonio Spurs, DB scored 24 points and made a huge impact defensively, collecting two steals and blocking a shot on the night.

It’s hard to say that he locked up Stephen Curry, but the Warriors’ star had to work for every point he scored against Memphis. The game felt like a duel between two stars. The Warriors had no source of offense with Brooks covering Curry.

This would continue into the first round of the playoffs already. In a win against the Jazz in game one, Brooks had one of the most memorable 3rd quarters of any player this season. In the quarter, the Canadian scored 14 points, along with an assist, a steal, and four rebounds, two of which came on the offensive end.

He’d finish the game with 31 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 7 rebounds. Without a doubt, Brooks was the best player on the court in a game against arguably the best team in the NBA. The guy has heart.

Brooks has shown that no moment is too big for him. If he can continue to step up for the Grizzlies, there’s no telling what their playoff journey will look like.