After a recent stint in the G League, rookie guard Rob Dillingham has turned in a productive three-game stretch for head coach Chris Finch and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Dillingham produced a career-high 15 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 108-106 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies. He went 6-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, in 17 minutes off the bench in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee on the road.
The eighth pick had a productive game on both ends, from running the offense and making plays for his teammates to locking up on defense. He was a team-high plus-16 on the court.
“Rob played great,” Finch said. “He played outstanding.”
Dillingham recently missed eight games with a sprained ankle. He made two appearances in the G League last week with the Iowa Wolves on a rehab assignment, averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, six assists and two steals on 31.9% shooting from the field.
The 20-year-old joined Iowa after playing sparingly with the Timberwolves, averaging only 3.5 points in 15 appearances to that point of the season. Those assignments helped him shake off some rust and build his confidence to be prepared to contribute to the Timberwolves.
“I feel like before, I was playing more nervous cause I’m scared to mess up,” Dillingham said. “Now it’s just like I’m just playing basketball. If I mess up, I mess up.”
Dillingham is averaging 12 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds on 60% shooting from 3-point range over his last three games with the Timberwolves. He has notched his best three-game stretch of the season and has scored in double figures in consecutive games for the second time.
The former Kentucky standout is beginning to showcase why the organization traded up to get him based on his recent play. He is excited to see his hard work come to fruition and eager to build on his career performance on Monday.
“I just take what I do tonight or the next day and try to do it as best as I can, and then it is another day,” Dillingham said. “I don’t really take it too high or too low. I just keep going, and I know it’s going to come because I have my outlook on what it’s going to be at the end.”