Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green seen personally how one outstanding offensive player, Stephen Curry, can revolutionize the NBA and basketball as a whole.
Green now believes he sees another player with star potential in former Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, who was taken eighth overall by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2024 NBA Draft and later traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“Who won the draft to me was the Minnesota Timberwolves,” Green stated on his podcast, The Draymond Green Show. “And the reason the Minnesota Timberwolves won the draft is because they drafted their point guard of the future in Rob Dillingham, who I think is a very special player.”
Green believes Dillingham is so great offensively that he can generate his own shot rather than relying on a system, and that clubs will regret not picking him when they had the opportunity.
“Some of those teams at the top of the draft were afraid because he got swag and he got game and they don’t know if his game is going to fit into their systems that don’t work and get them fired when you can just get a really good player who can score the basketball–Steph Curry–and figure out how the system works for him and then all of a sudden the franchise is in territory it’s never been in before,” says Green. “On occasion, we run upon
We run into these guards with swag who simply do not fit within the system, so teams avoid them. Some teams will regret passing on Rob Dillingham.
As a rookie, Dillingham will have the opportunity to learn from veteran point guard Mike Conley before eventually replacing him and playing alongside one of the league’s brightest young stars, Anthony Edwards, who helped Minnesota reach the Western Conference Finals this season despite being only 22 years old.
Dillingham, who declared for the NBA Draft on April 9 while foregoing his remaining eligibility, was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year, Second Team All-SEC by the league’s coaches, and All-Freshman Team after averaging 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.0 steals while shooting 47.5% from the field, 44.4% from beyond the arc, and 79.6% from the free throw line off the bench.
He concluded the season rated in the top 20 all-time among Kentucky freshmen in four statistical categories: fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (44.9), eighth in made 3-pointers (64), 12th in assists (124) and 17th in points scored (486).
Dillingham had eight games with 20 or more points, including a career-best 35 points on 14 of 20 shooting and 6 of 8 three-pointers in a January defeat to No. 5 Tennessee. Dillingham also had 27 points and seven assists in an SEC Tournament loss to Texas A&M.
Coming out of Overtime Elite in Atlanta, the one-time NC State recruit was regarded as the No. 16 overall prospect and No. 3 point guard in the 2023 class by the industry.
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