Rob Dillingham had clear instructions for Summer League.
“We need him to run the team, and he did a great job of that today,” Wolves Summer League head coach Kevin Hanson said on the first day of camp. “He wasn’t forcing a lot. I think he learned a lot this season under Mike [Conley]’s tutelage. We want him to defend at a high rate.”
The Wolves allowed Dillingham to prove that he can run the team by playing starter minutes in four of the five Summer League games. In his minutes, he showed flashes that merited the eighth overall pick a year ago.
However, Dillingham also revealed why he didn’t get a chance to enter the rotation in last year’s Western Conference run.
Scoring
Dillingham can score. He averaged 17.3 points per game in 29.3 minutes. Unfortunately, his percentages against Summer League competitions were not ideal. He shot 6.5 for 16.5 from the field per game on average, just 39.4%. He also struggled from three, going 1.5 of 4.5 per game (33.3%_. On the bright side, he shot 91.7% from the free throw line, 2.8 of 3.0 per game.
Objectively speaking, Dillingham was not an efficient player in Summer League. Having more shot attempts per game than points scored is generally not a good vote for a player’s efficiency. However, Dillingham showed consistency game to game. In Minnesota’s 98-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Dillingham shot just 4 of 14 for 15 points, going 4 for 4 from the free throw line.
Dillingham showed the same high volume in shots resulted in points in Games 2 and 3. In Game 2, Dillingham went 6 for 15 for 15 points in Minnesota’s 94-83 win over the Denver Nuggets. In Game 3, Dillingham went 7 for 17 for 16 points in a victory over the Detroit Pistons, 89-73.
Game 4 was arguably Dillingham’s best game, going 9 of 20 for 23 points in the 89-86 win over the Phoenix Suns. It included a 1-for-6 three-point shooting night that decreased his overall percentages. Factoring those out, Dillingham went 8 for 14 from two. That should give the Wolves at least some hope that if he continues to develop his three-point shooting, he could become a dangerous scorer.
The performance included dazzling scoop layups that displayed what he had been working on all season.
“It felt great,” Dillingham explained after the game. “I was mad when he kept blocking my shots. I’m not gonna lie, I was kinda mad… but it feels good to work on it and see it translate to the game.”
Dillingham’s scoring ability in Summer League offered mixed results. He produced high-volume inefficiency, combined with glimpses of his talent and unfulfilled promise. Given he’s only 20 years old, his scoring in Vegas should be considered at least a step in the right direction.
Defense
Dillingham’s defense is a little harder to quantify. The NBA doesn’t track specific numbers for defensive ratings or shot defenses during Summer League. Even without analytics, Dillingham showed he was a willing defender.
His ability to hustle and move his feet on defense was solid. He showed effort and even picked up players full court at times over the tournament. He also displayed great hands in plucking the ball away from bigger defenders and protecting it from opposing players, which resulted in 1.8 steals per game. Hanson broke down Dillingham’s performance defensively after the final practice.
“I was really happy with our defense,” Hanson said after Minnesota’s final Summer League practice. “I thought Rob did a great job fighting.”
Dillingham also showed that he can be an impact defender against Summer League competition. Although he may be vulnerable to being backed down, Dillingham can compensate for his physical shortcomings by getting steals and maximizing his effort.
Playmaking
The Wolves seemed to prioritize playmaking throughout Summer League. Dillingham demonstrated his exceptional court vision again. His ability to see angles and pockets in the defense to deliver the ball to a teammate is likely the best on the team. Due to the nature of summer league analytics, there aren’t many advanced stats to prove it, but the eye test continually checks out.
Dillingham totaled an impressive 26 assists over the four games, logging nine in the second game, as seen above. The assists are the result of a clear vision and an enhanced understanding of the offense.
However, like with most of Dillingham’s Summer League performance, there was a caveat.
He logged 17 turnovers.
The turnovers resulted in Dillingham registering a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio. Significantly lower than the 1.86 mark he logged during the regular season. The 1.86 ranked last among Minnesota’s players who played in more than 20 games. It’s also worse than his college mark of 1.95.
The turnovers on their own shouldn’t necessarily taint Dillingham’s Summer League performance. Still, his assist-to-turnover ratio indicates he’s not ready to run an NBA offense at 20 years old.
Dillingham had a successful Summer League. His defensive growth, scoring ability at the rim and in the midrange, and his court vision all indicate his potential value to the Wolves this season.
However, Dillingham’s turnovers and struggles from three-point range will likely continue to cause concern about how he will run an offense. Still, Dillingham is just in his second year and is going to have an opportunity to prove he belongs in the Wolves rotation this fall.
