Analyzing Rob Dillingham's Fit With the Charlotte Hornets

Matt Alquiza | Jun 26, 2024

Rob Dillingham is my favorite player in the 2024 NBA Draft class. His intoxicating blend of handling, shot-making, and play-making ability are addictive. No player in this class can match his mix of skill and swagger with the ball in his hands. There are legitimate concerns about his size and defensive ability, but he has an unteachable ability to put the ball in the basket.

Dillingham was a five-star prospect as a high schooler with Overtime Elite. He chose the University of Kentucky over North Carolina State, LSU, Memphis, and Auburn. As a Wildcat, he played in 32 games, only starting one. He functioned as the primary scoring option of the bench, and he filled it up as a freshman.

Dillingham averaged 15.2 points at Kentucky on a blistering 44.4% clip from deep. His 35 points on 14/20 from the field and 6/8 from three night against the Tennessee Volunteers in February was the high water mark of his freshman season. That night personified Dillingham's microwave scoring potential. More than any other potential draftee, the Kentucky product elicits a "Turn on the game, Dillingham is cooking" message to hoop head group chats all over the country.

Rob Dillingham is an elite offensive prospect, but how does he do it? Let's chat.

Offense Strengths:

Dillingham is electric with the ball in his hands. Dalton Knecht may be the best pure scorer in this class, but Dillingham gives him a run for his money. And he does it with flair.

Ron Dillingham’s handle is one-of-one. He has a deep bag of crossovers, hesis, tweens, behind the backs, and combinations of each that leaves onlookers cross-eyed. His ability to create space between himself and defenders to get shots off can’t be taught. His combination of handle skills and his elite quickness make him a near impossible cover in one-on-one settings. Think a smaller Jamal Crawford. 

Not only can Dillingham create space, he’s deadly when he has it. His jump shot rivals any prospect in the 2024 class. He has a high release, a must for a player his size (6’1”), and he’s just as deadly off the dribble as he is off the catch. On catch-and-shoot jumpers, Dillingham shot nearly 55% as a freshman at Kentucky. A ridiculous number. His overall three point percentage of 44% three point percentage (on 4.5 attempts per game) was in the top 20 of power conference players.

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— At The Buzzer 🎤 (@AtTheBuzzerPod) June 7, 2024

The above highlight reel shows how deep his bag is. His ability to create space flashes in the mid-range and in the paint as well. Dillingham has a plethora of dibble moves, but he also has a number of ways to put the ball in the basket. Floaters, lay-ups, short-range jumpers. You name it, Dillingham has it in his repertoire. 

On top of his self-creation ability, which arguably is the best among all 2024 draft prospects, Dillingham is improving as a facilitator. He’ll always be a score-first guard, but his passing ability is much improved.

Dillingham showed the ability at Kentucky to hit cutters and spotted up teammates off the dribble. Players of Dillingham’s archetype generally have the reputation of being ball-stoppers, but Dillingham is far from that. He keeps the ball moving in the flow of the offense, and cooks when necessary. This stat from The Ringer’s draft guide is telling when discussing Dillingham’s improvement as a passer: “He (Dillingham) passed out of the pick-and-roll in 57 percent of possessions at Kentucky, up from 43 percent of the time with the Overtime Elite.”

Offensive Weaknesses:

Size, size, and size. Dillingham measured in at 6’1”, 164 pounds at the NBA Combine. He’s going to walk into the NBA as one of the five lightest players in the league, which raises questions about his ability to finish against NBA defenders. 

He showed improved touch at Kentucky and his finishing ability around college players was prestigious. In the NBA, he’ll be playing against men, not boys, and it may take time for him to adjust. 

He still has some room to grow as a playmaker for others. Early on, Dillingham will be best suited as a jitterbug, score-first guard off the bench. Not a floor general guard looking to set up teammates. He may grow into that in time, but he’ll need to share the floor with a distributor while he develops his playmaking chops. 

Defense:

Again, it comes down to his size. No matter how much weight an NBA training program will be able to put on Dillingham, he’ll always be targeted on the defensive end. NBA teams ferociously hunt mismatches, and Dillingham will always be that. 

There isn’t much to say other than that. Other smaller guard prospects (Reed Sheppard and Devin Carter notably) are able to make an impact on the defensive end with elite instincts, quick hands, and pterodactyl like wingspans. Dillingham doesn’t have any of those tools unfortunately, which limits his defensive ceiling. He’ll be targeted early and often, and the defining question of his career will be “can his offensive dynamism make up for his defensive deficiency?”

Fit With the Hornets:

“The game is about a bucket” - Ball Don’t Stop.

Charlotte lacks bucket getters, plain and simple. I feel the same exact way about Dalton Knecht that I do about Rob Dillingham. If Charlotte drafts Dillingham to be a full-time bench player to spark the second unit, I will run the card with his name to Adam Silver for them.

Dillingham’s shot creation ability will translate from day one in the NBA. Since trading Terry Rozier, Charlotte has missed the secondary creation ability from the guard spot sans-LaMelo. Dillingham would bring that in spades.

Also, he’s just a fun basketball player. He brings a true And-One like flair to the game that would have the Spectrum Center rocking when he gets on a heater. Personally, I found my eyes glued to the screen every time Dillingham took the floor for Kentucky due to his electricity on the court. For a franchise in need of scoring punch, star power, and an identity, Dillingham could be a part of changing the narrative and ushering in a new era of offensive flair under Charles Lee.