Rob Dillingham Feels Like He Belongs With Chicago Bulls

Less than two years after earning All-SEC honors and becoming the No. 8 overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft, Rob Dillingham was cast out by the Timberwolves.

Minnesota traded Dillingham and Leonard Miller for Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu at the deadline. It was a surprising vote of no confidence in Dillingham, who celebrated his 21st birthday only a month prior. Leonard, a second-round pick in 2023, turned 22 years old in November.

Moving on from a former top-10 pick in his second NBA season is always noteworthy, but it certainly seemed like the Wolves were a bad fit for Dillingham all along. Minnesota had just reached the Western Conference Finals and needed talent that was ready to help the team win immediately, not a 19-year-old who would require time to develop.

"Minnesota's got a really good team, and they're in a position right now where they've been to two Western Conference Finals, and they're trying to find a way to get to that next step and get to an NBA Finals," Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said on Tuesday. "It's hard for young players when they're going into a veteran-oriented team, and every game matters, and you're fighting for seeding. You try to give a guy a chance, but if it's not going well or he's too young and inexperienced, there's a hard thing there, and sometimes those guys just don't get the opportunity."

Dillingham averaged just 10 minutes per game with the Timberwolves before the team shipped him to the Windy City in February. In his first Bulls press conference, the slender guard told reporters that the biggest thing he wanted to work on was his confidence. His lack of opportunity in Minnesota meant a lack of in-game reps, which directly hindered his ability to prove what he was capable of.

Entering a rebuild, the Bulls have given Dillingham that opportunity. The second-year guard has been far from perfect, but he's quickly learning and finally showing a glimpse of his potential. Tuesday's 31-point win over the Wizards — in which Dillingham went off for a career-high 26 points and added seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals — was evidence of his improvement.

"It's honestly a blessing [to be in Chicago]," Dillingham said on Thursday. "They work with me. They help me progress. I feel like I belong here and they want me here. As long as they're all with me, I'm going to keep giving it my all, for sure."

Since joining the Bulls, Dillingham has played 20.7 minutes per game over 27 contests. He's averaging 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and nearly a steal per game, but the area of his play that head coach Billy Donovan sees the most improvement in is his defense.

Even for a point guard, Dillingham is slim, standing 6-foot-2 and weighing just 175 pounds. He's incredibly fast and has always used that speed to his advantage on offense, but hasn't done the same on the other end of the floor.

Donovan told the media after Tuesday's win that he had felt Dillingham was pressuring ball-handlers too high and getting stuck while trying to fight under screens. No magic pill is going to make Dillingham taller, but his primary focus this offseason is building strength and increasing weight. Combine that with more reps of situational practices and in-game experiences, and Dillingham is on track to prove he not only belongs in the NBA, but also is a part of the Bulls' long-term future.

"I do feel like he's getting better," Donovan said. "He's a great guy and he wants to be really, really good. But I think, for most of his career, it's been like 'Hey, here's the ball, go do your thing.' As he's gotten to this level, he's realizing that going out there and just doing his thing, there's more to it than just that. I think he's finding his balance between himself and his teammates."

Because of how fast he is, Dillingham has never had to emphasize playing with physicality through contact. But the NBA is a completely different game from college and high school, and pure quickness is no longer enough to impact winning alone.

Dillingham understands that now. He watches how other players in the league — like his teammate, Tre Jones — can score in the paint despite being undersized and sees a similar pathway to success on defense. The keys to it all are physicality, confidence and a better knowledge of the game.

Becoming a true "winning player" will take time. The Bulls' season will be over on Sunday night, but it's these experiences in which players like Dillingham and Leonard can make mistakes and learn from them that will help the young players to reach their potential.

"We're in a situation right now where the opportunity has presented itself," Donovan said. "But would those two guys right now be ready to play in the Western Conference Finals? No. Maybe someday they will, but that's part of the growth period. I think they're both talented players, and if they're getting minutes, they're probably going to do things... I thought both those guys impacted [winning] tonight. They did a really good job on a lot of different levels to help us tonight."