Dillon Brooks takes Mat Ishbia’s side against Kevin Durant: ‘Thanks Matt for cleaning up that stench’

Dillon Brooks has joined the public argument between Kevin Durant and Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, using an Instagram story late on Saturday, October 17, to side with his owner and needle the star he was traded for.

The post showed Brooks roaring in a Suns jersey, set to 50 Cent’s “Back Down,” with a caption aimed squarely at the Durant era: “Thanks Matt for cleaning up that stench in the locker room before I came #culture.”

Dillon Brooks on Instagram: https://t.co/ZsjIYmKTy9 pic.twitter.com/XYJfHife4J

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) October 18, 2026

It was the latest turn in a feud that started when a clip of Ishbia discussing the 2023 Durant trade spread on Saturday. Durant answered on X, pointing to how well he was still playing at 36 and grumbling that Ishbia talked about him as if he had been arrested for a DUI. Ishbia replied that he had not blamed Durant and wished him well in Houston. Our report on the exchange has the full sequence.

Why Brooks has a stake in it

Brooks is not a bystander. He went from the Houston Rockets to Phoenix in the summer 2025 deal that sent Durant the other way, and he arrived as the face of the toughness-first identity Ishbia now calls the team’s culture.

His first season in Phoenix was the most productive of his career. Brooks averaged 20.2 points in 56 games, the first time he has cleared 20 a night and well above the 14.0 he scored in his last season with Houston. He shot 84.2 percent from the line and played 30.4 minutes a game. When the Suns went 45-37 and reached the playoffs, he lifted his scoring to 26.0 points across four postseason games, making 43.8 percent of his threes, though Phoenix went out in the first round.

A sharp preseason

Brooks enters the new season in form. He scored 68 points across four preseason games, 17.0 a night in roughly 21 minutes. His best outing was 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting at Chicago on October 7, and he closed the exhibition slate with 18 points against Utah on October 16. His full numbers are on his player page.

Brooks has built a reputation for welcoming exactly this kind of noise, and his post makes clear he sees the Durant breakup as the start of something better in Phoenix, not a loss.

What comes next

The Suns open the regular season on Wednesday, October 21, at the Portland Trail Blazers at 10 p.m. ET (Suns at Trail Blazers Game Center). Durant and the Rockets host the Dallas Mavericks the same night at 8:30 p.m. ET (Mavericks at Rockets Game Center).