The Minnesota Timberwolves spent a lot on landpoint guard Rob Dillingham in the 2024 NBA Draft.
During the 2024 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded a distant first-round pick and pick swap for the San Antonio Spurs to land Rob Dillingham on their eighth overall pick.
Dillingham was expected to become a project player, but the long-term outlook was that he could ultimately replace the aging Mike Conley as a starting point guard and become Anthony Edwards’ backcourt running mate.
Dillingham shows some flashes, but he didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself in his rookie season. But in a bigger role in the summer league, he stepped up.
Since he came out of Kentucky, Dillingham has been touted as a robust facilitator with several major turnover concerns.
In the summer league, he showed his willingness to give up the ball to both his teammates and opponents.
Still, the game is slowing down for him and he insists he is ready to take the next step.
“To be honest, it’s a whole new game for me,” he said. “It’s a whole new game for me, whether people see it or not.”
In college, Dillingham shot a fatal 44.4% from the three-point range. He hasn’t achieved the same success in the NBA yet, but his playmaking seems to have finally caught up, even if he is prone to leaving the company.
“I’m going to continue playing my game and try to improve every day,” he promised. “And whether it’s being promoted, it’s more of a point guard, it’s defending, it’s a full court, literally anything.”
Though he’s far from perfect, Conley has a year left on the contract, giving Dillingham a little more time to find his footing and there’s a reason to be optimistic.
Is it easy for Dillingham to be an NBA star? It’s definitely not, but Rudy Goat, who has been locked up for the long term by Edwards, Julius Randle, Jaden Daniels, Naz Reid and the Minnesota Timberwolves, doesn’t have to be an elite Dillingham. He just needs to be a solid facilitator.
Based on his improvements, it’s easy to see that he’s exactly what the wolves need if he avoids another coolness like he had to finish last season.
| span | GP | ppg | APG | RPG | tov | SPG | FG% | 3pt% |
| Summer League 2024 | 5 | 13.6 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 36.0% | 30.8% |
| Before the All-Star break | 31 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 45.6% | 37.7% |
| Post an All Star Break | 18 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 38.1% | 15.4% |
| Summer League 2025 | 3 | 15.3 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 37.0% | 41.7% |
Last season he averaged only 10.5 minutes per game, but his teammates already enjoy playing with him.
“He’s a really good point guard,” praised teammate Terrence Shannon Jr. “He shares the ball. He’s not selfish.”
The clock is ticking, but Dillingham is on the right track and still has time to thrive, so there’s no reason for fans to panic yet.