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On Sunday, August 10, Memphis Grizzlies of past and present squared off in the bronze-medal consolation round of the FIBA World Cup, as Jaren Jackson Jr.’s Team USA faced Dillon Brooks’ Team Canada.
Despite coming into the tournament tabbed as clear favorites to take home gold, the United States failed to collect so much as the third-place hardware, as they fell to their northern neighbors by a final score of 127-118.
Heading into the contest, Jackson voiced his hopes that he would see his former Grizzlies cohort provide the same level of trash-talking and defensive efforts that he had grown accustomed to throughout their tenure in Grind City together.
Unfortunately for the big man and Team USA as a whole, Brooks did far more than just talk, as he paved the way for Canada’s ultimate triumph with a tremendous performance and registered a game-high 39 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds all while knocking down a whopping seven three-pointers.
https://twitter.com/FIBAWC/status/1700831441805046113?s=20
Former Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks sounds off after downing Team USA
Following the win, Brooks discussed how it felt to achieve such great success with his home country’s national team after being treated as a scapegoat for Memphis’ underwhelming one-and-done playoff exit last NBA season.
“Obviously, the hate doesn’t stop and it keeps going,” Brooks told reporters, as transcribed by Donatas Urbonas of basketnews.com. “But just having my country, head coach, a GM, all these guys behind me, and trying to help me to succeed, having nothing to do with the politics, contracts, any of those things… It’s hard to battle against the world in a team. So it’s just a great feeling.”
Last year, the wing came under a serious amount of backlash following his antics during the Grizzlies’ playoff run last season against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, as he was regularly seen exchanging words with and throwing shade at the superstar though was unable to back up his trash talk with proper on-court production.
As a result, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported in early May that Memphis would be moving on from Brooks during the offseason, and, on July 8, was sign-and-traded to the Houston Rockets.
During this year’s FIBA World Cup, it was quite evident that the 27-year-old was playing with a rather large chip on his shoulder following his unceremonious departure from the Grizzlies and it seems he saved his best for last, poetically against his former teammate in Jackson.
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