Though some gets irked by his style of play, Luka Doncic certainly respects Dillon Brooks’ game.
Brooks received some flowers from the Dallas Mavericks superstar despite the former’s in-your-face defensive stance on the latter in Slovenia’s 100-89 loss to Canada in the quarterfinals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 on Wednesday night.
Brooks, who stands at 6-foot-6, was the primary defender on the 6-foot-8 Doncic in the crucial match, with Lu Dort also getting some minutes guarding the Slovenian supernova.
Doncic, who received two technical fouls for continuous complaining and was ejected with 6:37 remaining in the game, finished with 26 points on 8-of-20 shooting, along with five assists and four rebounds in the loss.
The former third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft mentioned that Houston Rockets forward, who also got ejected from the match, played physically throughout the contest.
“On the other side, I think Dillon [Brooks] played great. He was very physical, as he always is,” said the 24-year-old guard from Ljubljana.
“A lot of people don’t like him, but I respect him for what he does, and he does that stuff really well.”
With the loss, Slovenia officially bowed out of contention, heading into the classification phase where they will take on Lithuania on Thursday.
Regardless of the outcome, Doncic expressed pride in his teammates for the effort they displayed throughout the entire tournament.
“I’m proud of my team; everybody gave a hundred percent when they went out there. So, we should go back to the hotel with our heads held high, and you know, I’m just proud of this team.”
