"It was frustration" - Rob Dillingham shares difficult experience at Donda Academy amid Ye's anti-semitism controversy
Rob Dillingham took his talents to Simi Valley, California, after two seasons in high school with the Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina.
Dillingham left Combine to join the Donda Academy, the school established by Ye, also known as the rapper Kanye West. Once in his new school, he went from a relatively unknown prospect to a player appearing in SLAM magazine with West.
Dillingham’s time at Donda lasted only for one year. The controversial artist’s alleged anti-semitic comments forced some teachers and key school officials, including the executive director, to resign.
Opposing teams began canceling games against the Donda Doves, a fallout that had a big impact on Dillingham.
Rob Dillingham had this to say in an ESPN interview about his short-lived tenure in Kanye West’s school:
"It was definitely a disappointment. It was frustration because, obviously, you didn't really want to leave."
When “Ye” closed the school late in October 2022, Dillingham decided to play for the “Cold Hearts” in the Overtime Elite. From California, he went East to play in an Atlanta, Georgia league for 16-20-year-old talents.
He also spoke about how the challenges of playing for Donda Academy shaped him:
"I would say the experience boosted me because ... it gives you a little bit of adversity.
"People that don't go through adversity, that touch adversity and their first time touching it is later, it's harder to handle. I would say it just built me to be more mentally strong way quicker, and it gave me confidence to be me earlier."
After his stint with Overtime, Rob Dillingham played one season in college at Kentucky before entering the 2024 NBA draft.
Rob Dillingham is off to a slow start in the NBA
The San Antonio Spurs made Rob Dillingham the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Instead of keeping him, they accepted the Minnesota Timberwolves’ offer of a 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap for the former Kentucky Wildcats guard.
Dillingham showed flashes of his potential in the summer league and preseason games. The regular season has been a different story as Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has hardly used him.
The former Donda Doves star averages 2.8 points and 1.4 assists in 5.6 minutes per game. He has found it tough to crack the backcourt rotation of Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
The NBA is still roughly three weeks into the 2024-25 season. Dillingham might earn more minutes if he can show that he can handle adversity and improve his game.