Dillon Brooks Takes Shot at LeBron James' Lakers Teammate After Playoffs
Dillon Brooks might no longer be part of the NBA Playoffs, but he’s still taking shots off the court, recently revealing a player who needs to improve on his potential.
He appeared on popular streamer Ray’s live stream earlier this week, enjoying some basketball and conversation about the sport. Among the topics that surfaced was whether Brooks hates LeBron James; he said he doesn’t.
Along with that, he revealed that he doesn’t think James is better than Michael Jordan in terms of their legacies, and that his personal G.O.A.T. is the late, great Kobe Bryant.
While none of those discussions were intentional putdowns or trash talk about King James, he also boldly said he was going to “take a shot” at one of his teammates. Ray asked Brooks which NBA player he thought was “dumb,” and after a few moments, he said Jarred Vaderbilt.
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He had to inform Ray that Vanderbilt is on the Lakers, and describe him a bit before Ray said he knew who he was talking about.
“I’m going to throw a shot. I can’t even lie. This guy doesn’t even like me, to be honest with you. Jared Vanderbilt. On the Lakers. They call him Vando,” Brooks said, adding, “He’s like a rebounder. Can’t shoot.”
Asked why he thinks Vanderbilt is dumb, Brooks claimed he thinks he has a lot of “untapped potential” he could unlock when it comes to his basketball career.
Brooks’ assessment of Vanderbilt as a good rebound is accurate, as he averaged 4.5 boards compared to 4.4 points in 65 games last season. The 6-foot-8 forward shot 47.1 percent from the field, which isn’t terrible, but he’s nowhere near a scoring threat off the Lakers’ bench.
One thing he has notably done throughout the Lakers’ season is try to contain teammates and calm them down amid blowups between players and opponents, or their coach, JJ Redick.
Vanderbilt, a 2018 second-round pick from Kentucky, is currently locked in on a four-year, $48 million contract extension with the Lakers. He has a a $13.3 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
He certainly wasn’t a significant contributor in the team’s regular season or postseason, with his best game a 14-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers early in the season.
While Brooks isn’t exactly an All-Star, he seems much closer than Vanderbilt, averaging 20.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game this past season. He kicked it up a notch and led the Suns in scoring with 26 points and six boards per game during his team’s first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 8:01 PM.