LeBron James may have played last game. Dillon Brooks was there

There he was. 

With a wide smile and jewelry in his mouth, around his neck and on his wrist, Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks sat baseline at Crypto.com Arena watching the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder battle in Game 4 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series. 

Amazon Prime captured him on camera during the first half on Monday, May 11, as LeBron James was shooting free throws. 

“Did he just spot a villain (play-by-play commentator) Kevin Harlan,” said Prime NBA analyst Candace Parker early in the first quarter. “Was that Dillon Brooks underneath the basket?” 

That it was.  

“All I could see was ice (jewelry),” Prime NBA analyst Dwyane Wade said.  

 The Lakers were swept by the defending NBA champions after losing Game 4 Monday, 115-110. James finished with 24 points in defeat. 

Brooks and James have a long history, with one of the more memorable moments coming in the 2023 playoffs. When Brooks was with the Memphis Grizzlies, he uttered “I poke bears” in a postgame interview after a Game 2 win over the Lakers, who eventually won the series. 

Brooks addressed their history earlier this season after the two got into it again during an early December game in Los Angeles, saying he was, ''Just letting him know I'm here and I'm still rising."

After Monday's game, the 41-year-old James addressed the idea of retirement as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and four-time NBA champion, completing his 23rd NBA season. 

“With my future, I don’t know,” James said in his postgame interview. “Still fresh from losing. I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds for me as it stands right now (Monday night).” 

James plans to talk to his family before making a decision, as he’s an unrestricted free agent. He and his son, Bronny James, have been Lakers teammates the last two years.  

How crazy would it be that Brooks was in attendance for the final game of James’ career if James does retire?

The top-seeded Thunder swept the Suns in the first round and took out the fourth-seeded Lakers in the same fashion.  

Oklahoma City will face either the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs or sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference finals.  

The Spurs and T-Wolves are tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 May 12 in San Antonio. 

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Brooks courtside for Lakers' loss to OKC, smiles at LeBron