Ant: Dillingham's confidence 'reminds me of myself'

Minnesota Timberwolves wing Anthony Edwards sees a bit of himself in rookie Rob Dillingham.

"His confidence reminds me of myself," Edwards said, according to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski.

Minnesota selected Dillingham eighth overall in last year's draft, but he's struggled to maintain a spot in the rotation: He's appeared in only 19 of the Timberwolves' first 44 contests and averaged just 9.7 minutes per game.

Dillingham turned to Edwards, the 2020 first overall pick, to express his frustration.

"Do you think I'm gonna hurt y'all if I get out there on the court?" Dillingham asked. "You think I'm gonna hurt y'all?"

Edwards, who also started his career coming off the bench, recognized the rookie's desire for more minutes.

"He sounds just like me, and I couldn't understand why I wasn't starting," the All-Star said. "So I can't give him too many answers."

But Dillingham is now getting an opportunity to prove his worth: Starting guard Donte DiVincenzo was recently ruled out indefinitely with a toe injury. Dillingham has been playing 14.4 minutes a night in his absence, averaging nine points, a rebound, and two assists in four contests. The 6-foot-3 guard thinks seeing more action is helping him settle into his game.

"I feel like before, I was playing more nervous, I'm scared to mess up," Dillingham said. "Now it's just like I'm just playing basketball. If I mess up, I mess up."

The Timberwolves sit eighth in the West with a 23-21 record. They next play Saturday against the Denver Nuggets.