"There is a dude named Bogut here who's pretty decorated himself," he says.

"I appreciate the compliment but he has an NBA championship and he's a legend here. I just got here but I'm sure he's like Yao Ming here."

He's not far off the mark. Andrew Bogut of course boasts an NBA championship and more than 700 NBA games. He's also the league's reigning MVP.

As far as imports go, Brooks is certainly in that conversation but it says plenty about the 34-year-old's NBL mission that he's quick to divert attention elsewhere.

The 645-game NBA veteran's announcement that he'd be heading to Wollongong was largely lost in the frenzy that followed LaMelo Ball making his commitment to the Hawks official on ESPN.

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It wasn't necessarily by design, but it is how he prefers to go about his business.

"I played with Jimmy [Butler], Paul George, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming so I'm pretty good under the radar," Brooks said.

"My last couple of [NBA] years I wasn't really playing that much. Attention isn't something I super crave. I just want to do my job and be my best at it. Whatever comes from that comes.

"I'm just happy to be playing basketball again after taking a year off. I'm not going to lie, after a 12-13 year career you kind of get complacent and used to it.

"Taking a year off got me to miss is again. I really enjoy things like coming into practice, I'm still healthy, I rested the body and I'm ready to push out another two or three years."

That is of course the one asterisk, or at least the burning question: can he recapture his best at 34 and having not played since his last game with the Timberwolves in 2018.

He averaged 19 points and five assists a game in a career best 2009-10 season with Houston and 11 and three as recently as the 2015 season with Chicago.

And he's far from done, something he impressed on upon coach Matt Flinn in what's become an oft-repeated anecdote.

"I'm not [done]. I feel good, I haven't really played for a year so I'm a little nervous and apprehensive about going out there but normally when I'm nervous I play my best," he said.

"[Flinn's] a players' coach, very open and listens to advice but he's very strict with what he wants. So far it's been good easing me through and the team looks really good.

"I'm going to make the best of the opportunity. We've got a lot of resources, the trainers, the massages and all the stuff you take for granted throughout my career but I didn't have for the last year.

"I'm going to use all of it and try to improve and my goal is to be better than when I stopped playing."

The obvious humility aside, in the chasing championships stakes, Brooks shapes as the most significant signing in the Hawks history. That remains his ultimate drive.

"A championship is definitely the main goal," he said.

"It's been a while since I won a championship at any level, I think maybe the Pac-10 championship and that was a good feeling.

"I won my high school state championship but those things are hard to come by as you grow in your career.

"It's something I definitely want to do at any level because it's hard to do. Right here would be a nice little icing on the cake."