On Friday, Tim Bontemps of ESPN had his article posted on its website with a first-month lesson for all 30 NBA teams. He probably could have went in a few different directions with the Timberwolves, including their undefeated record against under-.500 teams and a winless mark against winning teams. Instead, Bontemps focused on Rob Dillingham, with his first-month lesson being that he remains a work in progress.
Rob Dillingham hasn't shown much growth from his rookie year
It was expected by most Timberwolves fans that Dillingham would show some growth after an uneven 2024-25 rookie season, where he was in and out of the rotation. Selected eighth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, he played nearly half of his rookie year at 19 years old before turning 20 on January 4. Growing pains were expected.
Through the first 15 games of the 2025-26 season, though (with Dillingham appearing in 13 of them), there hasn’t been much evidence that he has improved since that rookie year.
Bontemps points out some of the ugly numbers from him thus far, including 37.3% shooting from the field, 20% overall from 3-point range, and the team being outscored by 7.7 points per 100 possessions when the 6-foot-1 point guard is on the floor (the numbers that Bontemps provided are different because they were before Minnesota's last game against the Wizards).
In ESPN's article a scout in the Eastern Conference delivered a harsh message about Dillingham.
"I'm not sure that's ever going to work," an East scout said. "Maybe things come around, but it's hard to see it."
Now, it’s hard to speak in absolutes about a player who is still more than a month away from turning 21. We still only have 62 games of regular season data on Dillingham and three garbage-time appearances in last season’s playoffs.
Still, it would have been nice to see some progress from Dillingham as compared to his rookie year. Instead, he’s off to an even rougher start.
Timberwolves have a lack of trust in Dillingham
Right now, Chris Finch still has a lot more faith in playing 38-year-old Mike Conley on the floor in important moments than Dillingham. Conley, despite getting benched to begin the season, is averaging nearly double the minutes that Dillingham is receiving.
It’s discouraging to see the lack of trust in Dillingham, as we have often seen him get a quick hook if he gets off to a rough start. This is doubly true due to how much the Timberwolves gave up for him. Minnesota sent the Spurs a 2031 first-round pick, and the right to swap 2030 first-round picks in order to select Dillingham.