“Dillon Brooks is a dog,” Dallas forward Naji Marshall says of his veteran counterpart in Houston. “I give it to him. There are a lot of fake dogs.”
In a newly released podcast episode of The Young Man and the Three, Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall singled out Houston Rockets counterpart Dillon Brooks as being among a select few “real dogs” in the current NBA.
Known for strong defense, Marshall said there are a lot of “fake dogs” in the league, at least for the moment. However, he did note a few outliers.
When asked about “real dogs” that are worthy of a hat tip, Marshall replied (9:10):
I go Jimmy Butler, Giannis (Antetokounmpo). I get Dre, Draymond Green. James Johnson… James Johnson’s different. Like, it’s a different animal. Not even going to say a dog. He’s the hunted man versus the gorilla. That’s James. He’s the gorilla.
There’s two more. Dillon Brooks is a dog. I give it to him. And me.
Beyond his strong defense, Brooks also connected on a career-best 39.2% of his 3-point attempts in the 2024-25 season — and he did so on career-high volume (6.3 attempts per game), as well.
Best of all, those numbers had a strong link to winning, as Brooks played in 75 of 82 games (all starts) for a Houston squad that finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference (52-30).
Marshall was then asked about smaller players in the league, such as New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado.
“I can’t forget about Jose,” Marshall replied. “Jose is a dog. Jose’s one, for sure.”
The complete episode can be listened to below. The conversation features extended back-and-forth analysis between Marshall and Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, who Marshall previously played alongside and remains close friends with.
Marshall knows a thing or two about hard work, having built a solid NBA career in the aftermath of going undrafted in 2020. In his recently completed fifth season, Marshall averaged a career-best 13.2 points (50.8% FG), 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals. He played in 69 games for the Mavericks and started 31 times, which led to a career-high 27.8 minutes per game.
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