Former Kentucky guard and No. 8 overall pick Rob Dillingham started writing the first chapter of his NBA career on Friday night, suiting up for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the team’s first preseason game of the year against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Minnesota, the former Western Conference finalists, overruled the Lakers through 48 minutes of play, grabbing a 124-107 victory inside of Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California. 

Dillingham, a “one-and-done” freshman that was cherished by the big blue nation, logged 25 total minutes and capped off the game with 21 points, one rebound and four assists.

The former Cat didn’t start the game off on the hardwood, but once he checked in for the first time at the 2:06 mark, it was hard to keep him out of play, something that may strike fans as familiar when thinking about how he performed in a Kentucky uniform off of the bench. 

Dillingham drained his first field goal attempt of the night less than a minute after checking in, hitting an 8-foot floater powered by an assist from former Iowa Hawkeye and National Player of the Year Luka Garza.

At the half, the Wolves had a 58-49 lead and Dillingham went on to close his first half of NBA ball with seven points while shooting 3-9 from the field and 1-2 from beyond the three-point arch.

The second half was where Dillingham really began to tally most of his points, adding 14 more while attempting an additional 11 field goals. 

With his amount of shots trending upwards, Dillingham completed his night shooting 45% from the field (9-20) and 50% from three (3-6), contributing a solid double-digit performance. 

Dillingham and the Timberwolves have next Friday, October 11, circled on their calendar as they gear up for their next preseason go-around against another former Cat in Justin Edwards and the Philadelphia 76ers at 7:00 p.m.