NBA Draft: Potential No. 1 Pick Gets Intriguing Trae Young, Lou Williams Comparison

During that period, Dillingham has shown the ability to finish inside the paint and beyond the three-point line. He also has exhibited impressive handles to go along with his shot creation on all three levels of the court.

While he has shown flashes of being a great scorer, Dillingham’s weaknesses has also been exposed on defense. His 6’1 build does him no favors on defense, especially when opposing teams exploit mismatches against him. Also, his subpar free throw performance could lead to a regression once he reaches the NBA, a possibility that can derail his progress as a professional.

Potential NBA Draft Number One Pick Rob Dillingham Compared to Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young and Former Star Lou Williams

Even with all of his strengths and weaknesses, Dillingham is projected to land either with the San Antonio Spurs or Washington Wizards in the NBA Draft. Along with that possibility, ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo sees the Wildcats star having a career similar to the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young and former Sixth Man of the Year awardee Lou Williams.

“The absolute high end of the spectrum for Dillingham would be a Trae Young-like career arc, but Young was far more prolific as a passer in his year at Oklahoma where he was tasked with a lot more responsibility and volume. The more realistic way to view Dillingham (albeit, one that doesn’t necessarily help his case atop the draft) is through the lens of a possible microwave scorer — Lou Williams being a best-case version of that mold.

Williams had some excellent prime years, but was most valuable as a bench player due to his defensive shortcomings. Dillingham similarly doesn’t project safely as a franchise point guard, but his scoring ability is likely to have some form of utility, potentially at a high level,” Woo wrote.

If things pan out well for Dillingham, he might have a run similar to Young in NBA, one that could potentially pair out well with Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama. On the other hand, going through a career like Williams had isn’t a bad path at all.

Whether Dillingham lands in San Antonio or Washington remains to be seen in the coming months. What’s certain, though, is he’ll have a lot of attention on him before the NBA Draft happens in June of this year.