The Minnesota Timberwolves are off to a turbulent 5-4 start to the season, but one of the bright spots is the contributions the team has gotten from it’s role players across the board. The Timberwolves have five players who average double figures in scoring, including Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, who each average over 20 points per game.

The Timberwolves also have three more players who average over five points per game, including second-year combo guard Rob Dillingham, who averages 5.3 points per game. Dillingham made 49 appearances with the Timberwolves at the NBA level last season, splitting time with the G-League team in Iowa after he was acquired from San Antonio on draft night. 

Dillingham is hoping to stay in The Association for the whole 82-game stretch this season, but the ability to make himself indispensable for a professional roster required a challenging but necessary transformation of his game.

“I'm really just trying to do the little stuff that keeps me on the court,” Dillingham said. “And, yeah, for sure, definitely game by game, I feel way more comfortable. It's like you're playing minutes, so you get to watch your field, understand what you can do next game.”

Dillingham made it clear that the challenge of going from a primary scorer his entire basketball career to a do-it-all contributor is one of the biggest challenges of his career, but it’s not something he’s daunted by. 

“I'm not going to lie, it's definitely one of the most difficult things I've experienced with basketball because I've never had to be this type of player, but I want to win and I want to play on this team. So I'm going to learn and do whatever I need to do. It's difficult, but not that difficult.”

In terms of some specific areas where Dillingham is trying to improve to make himself a more well-rounded athlete, the 20-year-old specified crashing the glass.

“For example,” Dillingham said. “Last game, we lost the rebound race, so rebounding (is something I’m trying to master), making sure we stay off ball, but also stay in help side. Really, yeah, those things.”

As he develops as a pro, Dillingham also realizes the importance of taking things game-by-game in addition to being a productive film watcher.

“I would say some games are different than others,” Dillingham said. “In the Brooklyn game, I had a couple shots I feel like I'm wide open, but I don't shoot them. So then maybe the next game, I go into the game, I watch the film, and I'm like, those shots I always take. 

“Really, just learning by watching film, if I'm open, I need to shoot the ball. If I'm not, I just play basketball. It's not really focusing more on one thing because I'm an all-around player, I feel like."