LAS VEGAS — On draft night, Dillon Jones didn’t know who was going to pick him or where he would be picked. It was a waiting game that spanned the emotional spectrum but ended in the best possible way.
“We’re obviously a really good team, so it’s all about making sure my effort and energy are there to just give me a chance to do whatever I can do when it comes to playing during the year.”
— Former Weber State star and Thunder rookie Dillon Jones
“When you’re going through the draft process, you understand what scenarios, situations and all the things that can happen, so I knew that when my night started,” Jones said. “It’s a high-pressure situation and your life changes in those moments.”
Not only was Jones a first-round selection — going 26th overall in the 2024 NBA draft — but a good team, a winning team, wanted him and was willing to give up assets in order to land him.
After making their lone first-round selection to get Nikola Topic with the 12th overall pick, the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted more. The top seed in the Western Conference last season, the Thunder traded five future second-rounders to the New York Knicks for the 26th pick, Dillon Jones.
Jones knew that he wasn’t going to be a top pick and that he would have to prove people wrong about being a senior who is coming into the NBA. But to have a team with the pedigree of the Thunder make a deal in order to get him made him feel like he belonged right from the start.
“I’m not Wemby (Victor Wembanyama), so for a team to show that level of interest and wanting me, it says a lot,” Jones told the Deseret News. “I really appreciated them doing that, because I understand the position that I’m in. No one’s promised anything on draft night, and for someone to pursue you in the NBA is a rare thing, I think we all know that. So to have that, it was honestly a blessing.”
Jones played in Salt Lake City Summer League and wowed with his presence on both ends. Fatigue got the best of him in the second of three games during the showcase in Salt Lake City, but the fact that he comes into the league with years of experience, rather than being a one-and-done prospect, is beneficial not only on the court but also with how he views growth and his place within the Thunder’s system.
“It’s all about experience,” he said. “We’re obviously a really good team, so it’s all about making sure my effort and energy are there to just give me a chance to do whatever I can do when it comes to playing during the year.
“The greatest teacher in life, whether it’s basketball or whatever, is experience. It’s almost good that I’m messing up and making mistakes now just to kind of get it out of the way so that when it’s time for me to go out there, I’ll be ready.”
When Jones first walked onto the court at the Delta Center, the crowd erupted and gave the Weber State product a standing ovation. It was a moment that caught him off guard and that he wasn’t expecting. He of course knew how much he cared about Utah, but he didn’t realize that the crowd was going to show that level of love once he was on an NBA roster that didn’t have the Utah Jazz across the chest.
“That was dope, I didn’t expect it honestly,” he said. “It’s a good situation to have somebody show love to me like that. Utah is home to me in a lot of ways.”
Through the Las Vegas Summer League, Jones has had to come up against all different types of players and there have been games where he’s struggled. But he makes sure not to leave the arena just thinking about himself or how bad his night might have been.
Instead, Jones reminds himself that he belongs, that he is wanted and that he is able to grow from each situation so long as he asks himself the right questions. What can I take away from today’s game? What can I do better next time? How can I help my teammates more?
“It just takes time to get adjusted because the NBA is a completely different game than college,” Jones said. “It’s all about knowing time, knowing space, knowing pace. … The reality is, if I’m playing on the regular team during the season, I’ve got to be able to add value. We’ve got a lot of great players on that team, so you’ve got to be able to do other things other than score.”
It’s his years spent at Weber State that Jones said are helping him to make the adjustment. While playing for Eric Duft, head coach of the Wildcats, Jones learned to be accountable, to be loyal and to put the team ahead of himself. He feels like those are the things that are going to be asked of him by the Thunder and feels like he’s found a new home with them.