Dillon Brooks Wants To Box Nemesis Jimmy Butler: ‘I Always Feel the Animosity’

Dillon Brooks has never been shy about the rivals he’s made around the NBA, but one apparently still sits above the rest. Appearing on streamer N3on’s Kick stream this week, the Phoenix Suns wing was asked a simple hypothetical: if he could box any player in the league right now, who would it be? His answer came almost instantly.

“Jimmy Butler,” Brooks said, naming the Golden State Warriors forward without much hesitation. “It’s all about basketball for sure. But I feel like some things went too far. I always feel the animosity.”

Pressed further, Brooks made clear the tension isn’t rooted in any deep personal feud, pointing instead to comments Butler has made publicly since their last meeting. He said he’d seen things Butler posted on social media and heard remarks made in interviews, and that the two hadn’t crossed paths face to face since their last real clash on the court.

That clash traces back to last year’s first-round playoff series between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors, when Brooks and Butler repeatedly went at each other throughout a physical, chippy matchup. The most memorable moment came during Game 4, when television cameras caught Butler telling Brooks he was “a bum and a b—” during a stoppage in play — a message Brooks appeared to laugh off in real time. Butler, playing through a pelvic contusion, went on to score 27 points that night, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help the Warriors seize control of the series.

Butler didn’t soften his stance when reporters asked him about the exchange afterward. He said flatly that he and Brooks were “never having fun” when they got into it, calling himself a fierce competitor going up against another fierce competitor, and made clear there was nothing playful about their exchanges on the floor.

Since that series, the paths of the two players have shifted. Brooks was traded and is now suiting up for the Suns, while Butler has spent much of the past year working his way back from injury for Golden State. Butler has yet to publicly respond to Brooks’ boxing callout or signal any interest in actually stepping into a ring with him.

Were it to happen, Brooks and Butler would join a growing list of NBA figures who’ve taken part in celebrity boxing matches in recent years, including Deron Williams, Michael Carter-Williams and former Warriors guard Nate Robinson.