Brooks was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and lived there until he was six years old, when his family moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia.

[2] Brooks played collegiate basketball in the Big East Conference for the Providence Friars.

He scored 35 points in the second half alone, 15 of them in the final 2:57, leading a comeback that would fall short as Notre Dame picked up the win, 94–93.

That broke the previous single-season conference mark of 462 points set by Connecticut's Donyell Marshall in 1994.

On May 14, 2012, the NBA announced that Brooks finished 10th in the Rookie of the Year voting with 4 total points.

In the beginning of the 2012–13 season, Brooks saw decreased playing time from Nets head coach Avery Johnson.

"[10] On April 3, 2013, in place of the injured Joe Johnson against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooks scored a career-high in 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting in a 113–95 win.

[11] Brooks was traded back to the Boston Celtics on July 12, 2013, along with Keith Bogans, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph and three first-round picks in a blockbuster deal that sent Celtics stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry as well as prospect D.J.

[14] On January 15, 2014, a three-team trade was completed involving the Boston Celtics, the Golden State Warriors, and the Miami Heat.

[19] On February 19, 2014, Brooks was traded along with Kent Bazemore from the Golden State Warriors to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Steve Blake.

[21] On August 8, 2014, Brooks signed a one-year deal with Emporio Armani Milano of the Italian League.

On August 5, 2015, Brooks signed with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

After a delay, it was finally reported that the Grizzlies refused to trade Dillon Brooks and ended their participation in the deal, which meant they would not receive Kelly Oubre Jr. from the Wizards.

[27] On January 3, 2019, the Grizzlies traded Brooks, Wayne Selden Jr. and two future second round picks to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Justin Holiday.

[29] On February 20, 2019, Brooks signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers for the rest of the 2018–19 Chinese Basketball Association season.