"I really just take pieces of Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, Kyrie Irving": Rob Dillingham claims to draw inspiration from NBA greats before 2024 Draft

After a lone freshman season with the Kentucky Wildcats, Rob Dillingham is preparing for the 2024 NBA Draft, scheduled for Wednesday. The guard is one of the most highly anticipated prospects in a relatively weak draft class.

On Monday, Shams Charania shared his interview with Dillingham where the two discussed the latter's family and their influence, along with his goals for the NBA. Talking about his role models, the guard said:

"I really just take pieces of Kevin Durant, Steve Nash, Kyrie Irving. Just different players from over the years that all do different things and just try to like, add it all in one or do what they do best and add that to the game." [Time stamp: 4:38]

Rob Dillingham drew immense attention even before college due to his impressive stats. As a sophomore, the five-star recruit averaged 21.2 points, 4.9 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals. He shot 49.5% from the floor and 40.1% from the three-point range.

In his one year with the Wildcats, Dillingham averaged 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and made 47.5% of his shots from the floor, including 44.4% from deep. There are huge expectations for the young guard, but he does not seem stressed about it. He explained to Charania:

"Honestly, I just feel confident. I don't really feel like I have to prove anything. I just feel like I've been doing this my whole life, so this is where I believed where I would be and it's kind of crazy I'm here now.

"When you try to prove to someone that's when it goes left. You need to prove yourself. And honestly, I'm just proving myself that I can belong here, step-by-step, just feel like I've been doing it the whole time."

Rob Dillingham NBA Draft projection

Dillingham has always been considered a top-5 prospect, with his shooting and playmaking skills being enough to give him that distinction. However, his draft stock took a hit after he was assessed to be undersized (6-foot-1, 164 pounds) in the NBA Draft combine in May.

Rob Dillingham has been pushed down the draft pick order and is now a projected top-20 pick. ESPN's Jonathan Givony and USA Today are the only analysts to feature Dillingham within the first 10 picks (No. 8, San Antonio Spurs).

CBS Sports and The Athletic have predicted him to be a No. 13 pick going to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 2024 NBA Draft will be held across two days, on Wednesday and Thursday. It will be broadcast live on ESPN and ABC.

What are your predictions for Rob Dillingham in the draft? Let us know in the comments section below.

​