Rob Dillingham shines in final match of summer competition: ‘He will be a productive scorer’

Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was nearly giddy as the dust settled on the first night of the NBA Draft. His team was fresh off a thrilling run to the Western Conference finals but had few options to make moves to improve.

He spent days looking for ways to acquire a dynamic playmaker for his offense. When he pulled it off and took Rob Dillingham with the 8th pick, there was a lightness in his step. He saw Dillingham not only as the bucket-getter the Timberwolves needed right now, but also as a 19-year-old who could develop into Mike Conley’s successor at point guard.

The audacity of the move and the electricity of Dillingham’s highlight reel generated high anticipation for the Timberwolves’ summer-league team. But his first four games were disappointing, with his lack of size glaring a little too much in the neon lights of Las Vegas. He struggled to get his shot off the rim, missed too many 3-pointers and had to adjust to the increased physicality of defenders in this step up from college.

None of that was surprising for a player so young at the game’s most demanding position. And while his shot wasn’t falling, Dillingham still impacted games with his passing and embraced the Timberwolves’ defensive mentality despite his limitations on that end of the court.

It took a while — until Sunday’s Finals, to be exact. But Dillingham finally showed his full package, giving Wolves fans a tantalizing glimpse of what he can accomplish. He scored 25 points on 11 of 18 shooting to go with 12 assists and two steals in Minnesota’s 115-100 win over the Orlando Magic.

But it wasn’t just the numbers. It was the way Dillingham compiled them that was striking.

The quick, snappy three-pointers that made him so dangerous at Kentucky started to fall.

let it fly, Rob.

🏹🏹🏹🏹 photo.twitter.com/VZx4lKSYZH

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 21, 2024

What stood out to the Timberwolves even more when they scouted Dillingham than his shooting ability was his ability to break down a defense and find teammates for easy, explosive offense.

Watching his college video, it was conceivable that he’s already one of the best lob throwers on the Wolves’ roster, a vital addition for a team that features Rudy Gobert on offense. Karl-Anthony Towns and Conley have proven adept at connecting with Gobert on those plays, but other than that, the Wolves don’t have many options for that connection now that Kyle Anderson is with Golden State.

Dillingham showed against the Magic that he has the qualities.

LENNYYYYYY photo.twitter.com/sREHdgaxNi

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 21, 2024

Given his struggles with scoring in the first four games in Vegas — four points on 2 of 12 shooting in the season opener, followed by 14 points in the second, 10 points in the third and 15 in the fourth — it was understandable that Dillingham wanted to add some spice to his best performance.

🚨🚨 ROB DUNK 🚨🚨 photo.twitter.com/ONPUqYa7a7

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 21, 2024

Through five games, Dillingham shot 36 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from 3-point range. He was frustrated in his first few.

“I’m mad I didn’t make any strokes, but honestly I think you’ve got to do all those other things,” he said after the season opener.

That’s what the Timberwolves coaching staff focused all their time on with Dillingham in the days leading up to Vegas and once they arrived. He shot 44.4 percent from 3 at Kentucky. He has a flamethrower for a jumper. That it didn’t always work out during a four-game stretch didn’t matter to anyone on the team.

“It’s not about him scoring. He’s going to figure that out over his long journey in the NBA, how he scores, how he picks his spots,” Summer League head coach Chris Hines said. “He’s super talented. We just have to figure out how to hone that talent.”

The Wolves see this as a process for Dillingham. There will be times, like Sunday, when he lights up the scoreboard, raining down 3s, lobs and sending a charge through Target Center. There will also be nights when it doesn’t work and he’s looking for space against bigger, stronger players.

On a team that enters next season with championship hopes, it will be asking a lot of a young player. But the roster is designed to build Dillingham up over the course of the season. He’s the only true point guard behind Conley, which means he’ll get plenty of opportunities to play and learn as he goes.

The Wolves also have Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Joe Ingles who could be key players in the ball-handler role. However, the plan is to throw Dillingham in at the deep end and let him develop throughout the regular season so he can fill a perfectly defined role that works for him and the team come the playoffs.

“He’s got so much play and he understands the dump-off passes already,” Hines said last week. “Once he starts understanding how to read the floor, the pick-and-roll, he’s going to be a beast in terms of getting everybody involved.”

Dillingham showed in Vegas that he could make winning plays even when he wasn’t scoring. He averaged 7.6 assists per game in nearly 30 minutes a night. He also grabbed 4.2 rebounds per game, unusual for a point guard his size, and played aggressive defense, which will be expected of him when Gobert and the big club come together for training camp in the fall.

“He’s going to be a prolific scorer in the NBA one day,” Hines said. “It’s about understanding our culture and fitting into that culture. We’ll develop everything behind that.”

Dillingham leaves Vegas with a better understanding of what awaits him in the league. He has more talent and size waiting for him in October, and he knows what he needs to work on in the two months before training camp begins.

“I know I need to get bigger,” Dillingham said. “But I think the more confident you are, the less it matters.”

He won’t be able to add 20 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-1, 165-pound frame in the next six weeks. It will be a gradual process of building strength over time. But the blueprint is there.

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, listed at 6-1 and 164 pounds, struggled mightily in his first few games as a summer-league rookie in 2018. It took him some time to figure out how to close the size gap and find his spots. In his second season in the league, Young was an All-Star.

The Wolves don’t need Dillingham to be an All-Star right away, but they do need him to be a factor on a very good team. He won’t be the center of attention like Young has been for the Hawks the past six seasons. Dillingham will have so much more talent around him to help him as he adjusts to a new league and a new team.

Dillingham still has a lot to learn and grow. The competition will be much greater in the future. As he showed on Sunday, he can also do things that the Wolves desperately need.

(Photo by Rob Dillingham: Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)