Dillon Brooks said it was Dillon Brooks time in the 2023 FIBA World Cup bronze medal match — and he was right. He performed spectacularly to lead Canada past Team USA and secure the bronze medal.

In a wildly high-scoring, overtime game that Canada won by a score of 127-118, Brooks dropped 39 points, a mark he has yet to reach in his NBA career and the most points ever for a Canadian in a FIBA World Cup game. The Houston Rockets wing lit up a poor Team USA defense, shooting 12-18 from the field and 7-8 from beyond the arc and also recording five assists and four boards. Never before has a player scored that much in a medal-winning game.

Dillon Brooks thanked his haters after the historic performance, according to Esfandiar Baraheni of spdn sports.

“I appreciate you, from the beginning. Everyone that was throwing shots on Twitter and Instagram, watching me play. But it just helps me get better each and every day. Motivates me to get better,” Brooks said, per Baraheni.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett, who have each been key for Canada in its FIBA World Cup run, scored 31 and 23 points respectively. SGA added 12 assists and six rebounds to his stat line while Barrett collected six boards of his own. For Team USA, Anthony Edwards scored 24 points, Austin Reaves had 23 and Mikal Bridges tallied 19.

After getting embarrassed in the playoffs by the Memphis Grizzlies and then essentially being dumped by the team in the offseason, Dillon Brooks put on one of the very best performances in the history of international basketball competition. He knows all too well that basketball fans see him as a bad guy on the court. He knows that’s not who he is at his core but relishes his role as the heel nonetheless.

“It is a persona, people love it,” Brooks said, per Baraheni. “It's a lot like Kobe, RIP to Kobe, but he had to create the Black Mamba, so I guess that's my persona, the villain…But I'm a loving, caring guy who loves my kids, loves my family, my teammates.”

Canada's bronze-medal finish at the 2023 FIBA World Cup is the first podium appearance for the men's squad, matching the feat that its women's team accomplished last in 1986. Dillon Brooks' competitive spirit provided the spark for a talented Canadian squad to defeat its continental rival and secure a piece of World Cup hardware.