During the 2011 NBA lockout, Brooks signed to play for the Guangdong Southern Tigers.[5][6] On January 6, 2012, Brooks scored 40 points while playing 38 minutes off the bench as Guangdong defeated the Tianjin Ronggang 110-97. Brooks was 5 points shy of tying the Guangdong points scored record made by former player Du Feng. On February 16, 2012, Brooks was selected as the replacement starting point guard for the 2012 CBA All-Star game.[7] The original starter, J.R. Smith, decided not to play due to personal reasons.[8] Brooks was also selected to participate for the CBA's Three-Point Shootout competition. In the three-point shootout, Brooks was one point shy from entering the final round of the competition. In the All-Star game, Brooks led all competitors with 9 assists, but his Northern All-Stars team lost to the Southern All-Stars, 122-112. On March 8, the NBA on TNT did a segment on Brooks' time in China with Guangdong. Brooks led the team in assists for each game leading up to the 2012 CBA Finals, where they lost to the Stephon Marbury-led Beijing Ducks.
