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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 11: Dillon Brooks attends Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Dillon Brooks’ Suns offseason now includes a major leadership title.
Brooks has been named a Team Canada co-captain alongside Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, according to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg, who reported the news from Canada Basketball training camp in Toronto.
For Phoenix, the news lands at a timely moment. The Suns have been active around the edges of their roster, including a reported trade for Miles Bridges from the Charlotte Hornets, but Brooks remains one of the more important tone-setting players already in place. Reuters reported that Phoenix acquired Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick from Charlotte in a deal sending Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-round pick to the Hornets.
That deal did not directly involve Brooks. It does, however, make his role more interesting. Phoenix is adding more wing size and scoring, but Brooks’ value is still tied to something different: defensive edge, physicality and leadership.
Dillon Brooks Gets Team Canada Honor Amid Suns Offseason
Brooks being named a co-captain is not just a ceremonial nod.
Canada Basketball’s current group features high-end NBA talent, and Brooks has already delivered in that setting. Canada’s official roster announcement highlighted the program’s 2023 FIBA World Cup bronze medal, the best finish in Canadian men’s national team history. Gilgeous-Alexander made the tournament’s All-Star Five, while Brooks was named Defensive Player of the Tournament.
That is the context Suns fans should care about.
Brooks is not being elevated because he is the flashiest player in Canada’s pool. He is being trusted because he gives the team a defensive identity and emotional edge. Those same traits are central to his value in Phoenix.
The Suns have enough players who can score. What they need from Brooks is harder to replace: a wing who willingly takes difficult defensive assignments, competes through contact and brings a sharper personality to the group.
Brooks’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Comment Says Plenty
The co-captain pairing also comes with a notable playoff connection.
Lewenberg relayed Brooks joking that he wanted to “tackle” Gilgeous-Alexander when guarding him in the first round of the playoffs. Brooks then praised the Thunder star’s poise.
“I think he’s very unrattled and that’s why he’s the captain of our team,” Brooks said, according to Lewenberg. “Super composed, knows the game.”
That quote is useful because it shows the version of Brooks Canada is leaning into. He can be confrontational on the floor, but the national team is not treating him as only an agitator. It is asking him to help lead.
That distinction matters for the Suns. Brooks’ best version is not just noise and pressure. It is controlled edge.
Suns Still Have a Dillon Brooks Question Ahead
The bigger Phoenix question is what happens next with Brooks.
Multiple Suns-focused outlets have already framed his contract situation as a key offseason issue, with Sports Illustrated’s Suns site noting in May that Brooks was in position to seek an extension after helping shape Phoenix’s turnaround. Valley of the Suns also called Brooks’ looming free agency a concern the franchise needed to address.
That makes the Team Canada news more than a summer sidebar.
Brooks is entering a season where Phoenix has to decide how much of its identity it wants tied to him. The Bridges trade may change the wing rotation, but it does not replace what Brooks brings defensively. If anything, it puts more pressure on the Suns to define roles clearly.
Canada has already made its decision. It sees Brooks as a leader on a team with real international expectations.
Now the Suns have to decide how central he is to their own future.
Erik Anderson is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, NFL, MLB and trading card market for Heavy.com. His coverage focuses on breaking news, trade rumors, roster moves, player contracts and the stories driving national fan conversation. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today and ESPN. More about Erik Anderson
