Chet Holmgren reveals that he finds Dillon Brooks' attempts at gamesmanship funny

Before games, Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren often gets the ball to shoot the ball in the air as his pre-game ritual. Unfortunately, he had to wait before doing it ahead of Game 1 against the Phoenix Suns.

Dillon Brooks, who is well-known for his antics, did not let Holmgren do it. This was something to be expected from Brooks, which made it an even worse look because the Suns got blown out by 35 points in Game 1.

Chet Holmgren does not take issue with Dillon Brooks' mind games

For the longest time, Brooks has been in the NBA as an instigator. He managed to shed that reputation a bit during the 2025-26 season with the Suns. Brooks was excellent in the regular season, proving that the Suns were valid in trading Kevin Durant for him and Jalen Green.

In his best regular season performance, Brooks averaged 20.2 points per game. While he still has some antics here and there, it was an impressive performance. Those antics reared their ugly head in Game 1 of the series against OKC.

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Holmgren tried to do his pre-game ritual, but Brooks was being stubborn. Thankfully, Chet did get to do it afterwards, which nullified Brooks' antics a bit.

While some players might take issue with that, Holmgren felt it was something that he understood because mind games are part of succeeding in the league.

"I mean I wouldnt hand him the ball either. I didn't take it personal. He has his persona that he plays, and I think he wanted to give it to his guy, but I still got my touch before the game started," Holmgren said about Brooks' gamesmanship.

This is a good sign for the Thunder because they are unfazed by what they are getting from their opponents. Some players will want to play the mind games, but as long as they have a level head, they should be in a good spot moving forward.

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