Dillon Brooks gets technical foul after physical tussle with John Collins
Dillon Brooks Draws Technical Foul Within Five Minutes of Preseason Debut
It didn’t take long on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, for Dillon Brooks to reignite his familiar brand of on-court friction as the Phoenix Suns played the Detroit Pistons. The Phoenix Suns forward wasted no time getting into a physical tussle with Detroit Pistons forward John Collins during the opening exhibition game between the two teams.
The sequence began when Brooks tried to deny Collins paint positioning early in an offensive possession. Brooks delivered a hip check, then pulled the chair out from under Collins when the forward tried to spin around the contact. Collins ended up on the floor while the Suns held a 13-9 lead in the first quarter, according to coverage by sports.yahoo.com.
John Collins Reacts to First-Quarter Contact in Detroit
As the play continued up the floor, Collins looked for an official’s whistle that never came. A shot went up, Collins crashed the glass to grab the rebound, and Brooks immediately renewed the physical battle.
At that point, Collins turned and shoved Brooks by the throat. Teammates from both sides rushed in to break up the escalating confrontation.
Officials Assess Penalties Following Video Review
Referees initiated a lengthy video review to sort out the altercation. When the officials delivered their ruling, Collins received a flagrant 1 foul, while Brooks was assessed a technical foul. The Detroit Pistons ultimately secured a 109-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns, with Brooks contributing 11 points to his team’s effort.
The preseason timing spares Brooks immediate regular-season discipline. During the previous regular season, Brooks led the NBA with 21 technical fouls despite appearing in only 56 games. Under league rules, accumulating 16 technical fouls triggers an automatic one-game suspension, with subsequent suspensions every two technicals thereafter. Because exhibition technicals do not carry over, Brooks starts the new slate with a clean record.