Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks: 'Villain' Perception Impacted LeBron James Flagrant Call

Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks feels there was a bit more that went into his ejection in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night than what happened on the floor.

Brooks was assessed a flagrant-2 foul after he hit LeBron James in the groin just seconds into the start of the second half. He exited the game with just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field as the Grizzlies fell into a 2-1 series hole.

When talking to the media Sunday, the 27-year-old said that he feels the officials were influenced by his antics earlier in the series and the perception that the rest of the league has of him.

"The media making me a villain, the fans making me a villain, that just creates another persona on me," Brooks said.

Brooks created headlines for himself earlier in the series after he talked trash to James during and following Game 2. He called the NBA's all-time leading scorer "old" and continued to add to his reputation as of one of the NBA's heels.

One of the centerpieces of Memphis' young core, Brooks has had more than his fair share of problems with officials this season. He led the league with 18 technical fouls in the regular season, one more than Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, who he has a bit of a rivalry with.

Brooks also ranked near the top of the league in flagrant fouls with two.

He is perhaps the poster child of Memphis' braggadocios nature, talking trash to anyone, no matter their resume. And its gotten him into quite a bit of beefs, contributing to the "villain persona" that he was talking about.

Perhaps the biggest example happened earlier in the year with Green amid the heated feud between the Grizzlies and Warriors. After one particularly contentious game, Green hopped on his podcast and ripped Brooks, essentially calling him a scrub.

"They're depending on this guy to help them win a championship," Green said of Brooks. "... You're running around talking about a dynasty? The dynasty starts after you, not with you."

But if anything, Brooks has seemed to enjoy his role as the villain, at least when it serves him. So, it's strange to see him pointing the finger in other directions.