Robert Deon Potasi Dillingham (born January 4, 2005) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

. He was a five-star recruit who previously played professionally for the Cold Hearts and Blue Checks with Karter Knox in Overtime Elite during what would have been his senior year in high school. Dillingham became a guard for

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

during the 2023–24 season.

Early life and high school career

Dillingham was born and raised in

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city in western North Carolina primarily located in Catawba County, North Carolina, Catawba County. The List of municipalities in North Carolina, 25th most populous city in the state, it is located approximately northwest of Charlot ...

. His father Donald is

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

and mother Valaaulia "Lia" Tailele is originally from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. Rob played basketball for Combine Academy in

Lincolnton, North Carolina Lincolnton is a city in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States within the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 11,091 at the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 12,128, as of 2023. Lincolnton is northwest of Charlo ...

. Dillingham emerged as one of the top players in his class by his sophomore season. As a sophomore, he averaged 21.2 points, 4.9 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, leading his team to a 29–3 record and a non-association state title. He was named ''

Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' Player of the Year. For his junior year, he transferred to

Donda Academy Donda Academy was an unaccredited Christian private school for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in Simi Valley, California, United States. It was founded in 2022 by American rapper Kanye West. During the admissions and hiring ...

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

's school in

Simi Valley, California Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater ...

. For his senior year, he transferred to Overtime Elite in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia.

Recruiting

Dillingham was considered a five-star recruit by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

, and a four-star recruit by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

. On December 1, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

over offers from Memphis,

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and

. He became the second-highest-ranked recruit in program history, behind Dennis Smith Jr. On March 19, 2022, Dillingham announced his decommitment from NC State and reopened his recruitment. On June 24, 2022, Dillingham committed to

over offers from

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Auburn, and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. He became Kentucky's second commit in the 2023 recruiting class. and went on to average 15.2 points per gam

Professional career

Cold Hearts (2021–2023)

On November 3, 2022, Dillingham left

after multiple controversies surrounding its founder,

, and signed with Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league for late-high-school- and early-college-level players. He joined the Overtime Cold Hearts, one of the six teams in the league. Dillingham made his OTE debut for the Cold Hearts on November 11, recording six points, three rebounds and three steals in a 92–84 loss to the YNG Dreamerz.

NBA

After spending one season with the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, Dillingham declared his entry into the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

and received a green room invite.

Minnesota Timberwolves / Iowa Wolves (2024–present)

On June 26, 2024, Dillingham was selected with the eighth overall pick by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the 2024 NBA draft; however, immediately on draft night, he was traded to the

in exchange for a 2030 protected first-round pick swap and an unprotected first-round pick in 2031. On July 8, he signed with the Timberwolves. On January 12, 2025, he was assigned to the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

National team career

Dillingham led the United States to a gold medal at the 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Mexico. He was named

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

after averaging 15.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game. He posted a team-record 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 90–75 win against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in the final.

Personal life

Dillingham is the son of Valaaulia Tailele and Donald Dillingham. He has two siblings, Pai Tailele and Denzel Dillingham.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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Playoffs

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2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

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College

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, 32 , , 1 , , 23.3 , , .475 , , .444 , , .796 , , 2.9 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 15.2

References

External links

*
Kentucky Wildcats bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillingham, Rob 2005 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Samoan descent Basketball players from North Carolina Iowa Wolves players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves players Overtime Elite players Point guards San Antonio Spurs draft picks Sportspeople from Hickory, North Carolina