ESPN: Rob Dillingham just earned a total upgrade in his career” after he was pronounced..
On the first night of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Timberwolves were quite active. They selected Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. with the No. 27 pick then traded up for Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham at No. 8 overall. A large portion of the media is incredibly impressed with what they managed to accomplish. Terrence Shannon and Rob Dillingham are a big addition for the Wolves. Their squad was heavily infused with shot production. On X, the social networking site that was once known as Twitter, Kevin O’Connor, a draft analyst for The Ringer, stated, “Tim Connelly is doing it again.”
As a true freshman at Kentucky, Dillingham scored 15.2 points per game on 47.5/44.3/79.6 shooting splits in his previous season. He came off the bench for the Wildcats in all but one of their games, earning him the title of 2023–24 Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year. His road to the NBA was not like any other. He played one season for Kanye West’s Donda Academy High School in California, one season for “Cold Hearts” in the Overtime Elite league, and one season of college basketball at Lexington, where he was a star.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas remarked, “Rob Dillingham is just a hooper, I mean that guy can score.” “When the ball is placed in his hands, Rob Dillingham can score and create for himself. He has a great shake, speed in transition, quickness to get past people, pull up and release the ball quickly, and he can shoot it from deep or off the catch.
Last season, Shannon was possibly the finest scoring guard in college basketball. His third-best point average in the nation was 23.0 points per game. Compared to Dillingham, he has far more collegiate experience, and he will turn 24 next month. “This past year, Terrence Shannon Jr. was the best guard in the United States.” John Fanta, a college basketball analyst, remarked, “That’s quality value from the Timberwolves, who went out and said let’s get more backcourt weapons tonight with Rob Dillingham as well.”
Minnesota emerged from the draft with two players who have shown they can contribute to a rotation that aims to contend for an NBA title the following season, despite the perception that the skill pool was less than in previous years.
