Bulls Reveal Rob Dillingham Has Been Dealing with a Wrist Issue This Whole Time

Rob Dillingham may not be on the current injury report, but the Chicago Bulls revealed this week that he is dealing with his own lingering ailment.

Ahead of Tuesday's meeting with the Golden State Warriors, Billy Donovan shared that Rob Dillingham has dealt with cysts in his right wrist. The guard has received some injections to help with the issue since arriving in Chicago, but it's said to be hampering his jump shot, per K.C. Johnson of CHSN.

Will Gottlieb of CHGO went on to speak with Dillingham about the injury, noting that it's something the guard has experienced since he entered the NBA. He also noted that the difference in mobility between his two wrists was "stark."

Once again, Dillingham remains off the injury report and has clocked just under 20.0 minutes a night during his 13 games with the Bulls so far. It's an injury that he is clearly able to play through, but one that could definitely help describe the guard's shaky start to both his Bulls and NBA career.

Chicago Bulls Injury Trouble Continues ...

Rob Dillingham of the Chicago Bulls — Mar 8, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Rob Dillingham (7) dribbles the ball past Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

It can be difficult to keep track of all the Chicago Bulls' injuries.

Ever since their explosive NBA trade deadline, the teams have been shuffling the majority of their roster on and off the injury report. Noa Essengue and Zach Collins have been ruled out for the season, while both Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey have missed multiple weeks of action. Tre Jones sat out extended time with a hamstring strain. Josh Giddey suffered the same fate before an ankle sprain emerged. Jalen Smith is being watched closely as he tries to finally get over a lingering calf injury, and Patrick Williams went from a quad strain to an ankle tweak.

Even Matas Buzelis was forced to miss his first game of the season over the last week. He sprained his ankle against the Oklahoma City Thunder and remains on the injury report because of it. The good news, however, is that he still managed to drop a career-high against the Warriors and remains probable for Thursday's meeting with the Lakers.

Let's also not forget that tanking isn't the Bulls' M.O. This team isn't putting together a lengthy injury report for the sake of dropping games and getting younger guys minutes. Might they be acting with a little less urgency when it comes to the return timeline of each player? Perhaps, but they also didn't hesitate to welcome both Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis back to the court after their recent sprains.

One of the few players who has avoided injury trouble thus far has been Rob Dillingham. The former Minnesota Timberwolves lottery pick came over as part of the Ayo Dosunmu trade and has seen his playing time fluctuate. With that has also come some very mixed reviews. While there is no denying his speed and hustle, his scoring efficiency, turnover troubles, and lack of size have been hard to ignore.

Of course, those are at least some of the reasons why the Timberwolves likely felt comfortable moving on from the former No. 8 overall pick. The Bulls always knew taking on Dillingham meant another sizable reclamation project. Nonetheless, the project has now been interrupted by cysts in Dillingham's right wrist.

What made Dillingham such a tantalizing talent was his rare scoring efficiency for the Kentucky Wildcats. As a freshman, he shot a 47.5 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from long range on good volume. Since entering the NBA, however, Dillingham has been only a 31.7 percent shooter from deep and has struggled immensely to finish around the rim.

To be clear, this cyst issue should not be considered the lone reason for Dillingham's struggles. His size was a real concern that has, unfortunately, come to fruition in the NBA. He is also often playing way faster than his shoes can handle. With that said, if Dillingham's cyst problem is hampering his jumper and even handling, there is no question that this could have a pretty significant domino effect on him both physically and mentally.

Shooting efficiently was such an important part of Dillingham's game. Teams were always forced to close out on the guard, allowing him to use his blazing speed to attack the paint. Could Dillingham also need to tweak his shot mechanics at the NBA level? Sure, but not having a full range of motion is undoubtedly a tough problem to overcome.

So, what happens now? The Chicago Tribune's Julia Poe shared more words from Donovan, who noted that it's something the team will have to address in the offseason. In other words, it's going to be a while before the problem is solved and the Bulls can get an honest look at what Dillingham brings to the table. Consider that another frustrating development for the post-trade-deadline Bulls!

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