Much talk surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason revolves around the youth being given more of a role. Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, and Rob Dillingham likely will see more playing time. With Nickeil Alexander-Walker leaving for the Hawks and Mike Conley turning 38 in a couple of months, more minutes should be available.
Selected eighth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, Dillingham has been one of the more talked-about players this offseason for Minnesota. Can he earn a spot in the rotation after a 2024-25 season where he was unable to secure one on a permanent basis?
It would seemingly benefit the Wolves to see if they can recreate the success of pairing the 20-year-old Dillingham with Naz Reid off the bench.
Dillingham/Reid showed excellent chemistry together
In 2024-25, Dillingham appeared in 49 games for a total of 516 minutes. Once the postseason rolled along, it was just three outings for 16 minutes. Those first set of numbers are certainly expected to increase in 2025-26.
It would behoove the Timberwolves if many of those minutes for Dillingham come while sharing the court with Naz Reid. That was the case last season as Dillingham was playing with the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year for more than half of his minutes (298 of 516).
Minnesota performed well overall with the two together. When the two shared the court, the Timberwolves had a +11.1 net rating. Their offensive rating was 117.3, and their defensive rating was 106.2.
The connection between the two can be noted in the numbers. Due in large part to his uneven playing time, Dillingham totaled only 98 assists last season. While that sounds low, he averaged 6.8 assists per 36 minutes. Approximately 27.5% of the 6-foot-1 point guard’s assists (27 of 98) came off of Reid buckets. While Dillingham didn’t find instant chemistry with other teammates, it took very little time to do so with Reid.
Time to quiet the skeptics
Now, just because a pairing works one year, doesn’t mean it’s a sure thing to do so the following one. Still, as Dillingham gets acclimated to increased playing time at the NBA level, it would be wise to get him on the court often with Reid.
It’s a big second season for Dillingham, even though he doesn’t turn 21 years old until January 4. There have been a lot of people already sharing their doubts about his long-term prospects, often pointing out his size (The Athletic didn’t even have him in the top-20 of a 2024 re-draft). Chris Finch needs to ensure Dillingham is comfortable, and playing with Reid is one of the main ways of doing so.