At one point, Dylan and Dakota Gonzalez were on top of the world. The twins were not only excellent basketball players, but also aspiring musicians. Based upon their combination of talent and work ethic, both were on the cusp of becoming major global stars. However, one major institution completely derailed their professional basketball aspirations. In the process, it illustrated a far greater problem plaguing many across the United States.
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An Athletic Family
Though born in Kansas, Dakota and Dylan were raised in Idaho. It came as no surprise to see the twins develop into elite athletes. Their mother, Angie, was an All-American basketball player at Kansas. She then went and played professionally in Germany. Wanting to follow in their mother’s footsteps, Dakota and Dylan became star players for Highland High school in Pocatello, Idaho.
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College Choice
Both Dylan and Dakota were dominant at the high school level. In fact, many proclaimed that they were the two best high school basketball players in the entire state of Idaho. When it came down to selecting a college, the two opted to stick together. Their mother in particular was very happy with their decision to attend this university close to all of their hearts…
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Rock Chalk Jayhawk
The twins decided to play for the University of Kansas (their mother’s alma mater) over Auburn, Gonzaga, Stanford, Kentucky, and Washington. While some thought that they’d go their separate ways, Dakota told a local newspaper (Idaho State Journal) that this was not an option:
“There are no words to describe how excited I am that I get to go with my best friend to Kansas. To play in the Big 12, in such a competitive conference and knowing I have the support in my sister and the recruits coming in is just great. I am very excited.”
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Gaining Notoriety
Any pairing of identical twins normally draws attention. However, this attention becomes increased even further when adding in model looks. Dakota and Dylan became virtual celebrities on campus. Their respective Instagram profiles also began to boom in terms of followers. Dakota and Dylan had at least 500,000 followers each by the time they were college freshmen. While their popularity off the court was increasing, their effectiveness on the court was not going as well.
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Not Racking Up The Stats
Neither Dakota nor Dylan featured too much as first-year players. Dakota nabbed only four starts throughout the year. During this time, she averaged 4.4 PPG in 17.3 MPG. Her sister — Dylan — only played 2.8 minutes per contest. She averaged only 1.1 points per game.
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Needing a Change of Scenery
After trying to make it work, the twins decided that they needed to leave Kansas. They were not happy at the school and hoped they could land somewhere closer to their home in Idaho. After much thought, the twins enrolled at UNLV. With their considerable social media following, Dakota and Dylan received some serious backlash for leaving Kansas…
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About The Brand
Combined, the twins had over one million Instagram followers. Jilted KU fans were critical of them — as were others who criticized Dakota and Dylan for leaving a bigger school in favor of a smaller one. Dylan addressed these issues in the Idaho State Journal:
“We definitely expected some backlash, especially transferring from a Big 12 program to the Mountain West. It’s definitely tough because people don’t really know what goes on behind the curtain, so they just make these assumptions and throw things out there that nine times out of 10 are not true.”
After sitting out a year, Dakota and Dylan got into a serious groove with the Lady Runnin’ Rebels. However, that soon all came to a screeching halt.
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Having Some Success
When at UNLV, the twins broke out in a big way. Dylan was the first member of the bench. She led the second unit in scoring and was also among the team leaders in three-point makes. Dakota led the team in scoring (13.8 PPG) — and was even named as an Honorable Mention All-Mountain West selection. While they enjoyed their basketball careers, it was music that drew the twins to the bright lights of Las Vegas. In the process, they drew the attention of one of the biggest rappers in the world.
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Drake is a Fan
Being a fan of basketball, music, and beautiful ladies, it comes as no surprise that Drake became a fan of the twins. Not only did he attend some of their games in Vegas, but Drake also hung out with the twins on multiple occasions. This included frequent games of 2-on-2 (featuring the likes of NBA players Ben McLemore and Anthony Davis). As their fame in basketball grew, the twins took the next step with their music careers…
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It’s Music Time
Under the name IIGonz, Dakota (Kota) and Dylan (Dyl) put out several music tracks on SoundCloud. This included an EP (Take 1) and several singles. One single — “Nobody Knows” — has nearly 500,000 listens. Many thought the girls were being entrepreneurial, and thus quite creative. However, one organization did not agree. This disagreement ultimately led to the end of their basketball careers.
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The NCAA Hammer
With the newfound notoriety surrounding their relationship with Drake, it wasn’t long until Dakota and Dylan went viral. This put them under an even bigger microscope from all avenues — including the NCAA. Upon finding out that the twins were making their own music, Dakota and Dylan were told that their burgeoning music careers could impact their respective eligibility as college athletes. What happened next was absolutely shocking.
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A Threat From the Higher-Ups
In an interview with SLAM magazine, Dylan offered this perspective when asked about their musical endeavors as college athletes:
“We definitely tried to challenge the system a little bit to make both music and basketball work. At the end of the day, the only thing they would allow us to do was sing the national anthem at a game and make music in our home. It just became this fight as to why we wouldn’t do anything outside of basketball without all of these ticky-tack regulations coming into play. It just became so stressful.With all of this in mind, the twins had to make a very controversial decision…
Dakota and I were very much committed to coming back for our senior years, but as things were unfolding with the NCAA, it became a nightmare. E-mails that were like, ‘If you’re going to do this, then this is going to happen’ kept coming. You almost start to feel a little threatened by them.”
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Calling It Quits
Despite having a year of eligibility left, both Dakota and Dylan were forced to stop playing basketball at UNLV. With the NCAA not letting them do anything other than singing the national anthem, the twins felt like their newfound fame could be wasted if they weren’t able to capitalize on potential music opportunities.
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A Firestorm Announcement on Instagram
The two took to Instagram to announce their decision. Many around the country were outraged over their inability to make music and play basketball. Some anger was thrown at the NCAA — while the twins also bore the brunt of scrutiny.
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Potential WNBA Career?
The twins didn’t want to completely give up on their dreams of playing basketball. There was talk that the two may try out for multiple WNBA teams. Duly, there was some appeal to the notion that Dylan and Dakota could attempt to play in Australia or Russia. However, this never ultimately panned out.
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Working on Their Music
Dylan and Dakota kept pushing forward with their songs. Their EP — Take 1 — garnered plenty of attention and praise. The twins had compiled several songs they had worked on. The goal was to work with an engineer to promote them on all social media platforms.
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Is Basketball Still Out of the Picture?
For over a year, the twins remained somewhat out of the spotlight. Many were wondering if they’d given up on playing basketball completely. While new music was still being churned out, the twins surprised everyone by making a gigantic announcement…
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Las Vegas Aces
At their home in suburban Las Vegas, the twins admitted that the dream of playing in the WNBA never faded. In fact, the goal included playing for the hometown Las Vegas Aces (under head coach and former NBA star Bill Laimbeer). More than anything, the twins were motivated to act as inspirations to young children all over the country.
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Fierce Competition
The twins kept in insane shape and looked forward to making a WNBA roster in 2019. When looking at the Aces’ roster, it featured several very good players — including Kelsey Plum, Epiphanny Prince, A’Ja Wilson, and Liz Cambage. By the time the 2019 season rolled around, the twins were nowhere to be found.
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Another Chapter
While the goal of playing professional basketball came to a close, that didn’t mean the twins weren’t able to pursue several different opportunities. Fame from their college days continued to make them a presence on social media. Dakota and Dylan each had over 1 million followers. This resulted in some rather interesting pursuits.
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Social Media Influencers
Dakota and Dylan became social media influencers on Instagram. Duly, the two began posting several modeling pictures. Whether it be with big-name photographers or those looking to make a name for themselves, Dylan and Dakota have been steadfast in posting stylish, unique, and beautiful pictures of themselves.
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Don’t Forget The Music
In late 2019, the Gonzalez twins have re-branded themselves under the name D.a.D. With over 106,000 followers on Instagram, Dakota and Dylan are on the cusp of releasing some new music. Multiple cryptic Instagram posts have been created recently, which point towards a new EP or album dropping soon.
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Creating an App For Their Fans
In 2019, the twins also created their own app under the platform escape. According to Dakota and Dylan, the app is geared to showcase their lifestyle, music, and fitness content. There’s even the possibility of some giveaways as well (which include an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas). Surely, many would have an interest in this content.
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The Story of Dakota and Dylan Gonzalez
The story of Dakota and Dylan Gonzalez is quite inspiring. Despite being hindered by a somewhat rigid organization, the twins still managed to become very successful entrepreneurs. In the process, they’ve raised awareness in the cause to try and allow college athletes to make a living for themselves while competing in athletics.
