"Felt great": Raptors' Gradey Dick discusses his time in G League
Toronto Raptors 2023 first-round draft pick Gradey Dick is hoping that a recent conditioning stint will help him find his form.
In his first 15 games with Toronto, the 21-year-old rookie hadn’t exactly been the sharpshooter many were expecting when he was taken 13th overall out of Kansas in this past year’s draft. Shooting just 10-for-41 from three-point range — a mark of .270 — Dick clearly was having a bit of a steep learning curve to the pro game.
Over the last week and a half, Dick found himself in the lineup for a trio of games in the G League with Raptors 905, with admittedly up-and-down results. He went just 1-for-12 from the field in his first G League game, finishing with just two points, two rebounds, and one assist in 34 minutes of action.
But his next two outings fared much better, as he put up a combined 43 points over the next two games, going 7-for-19 from three-point range while also going 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
Dick averaged 36.9 minutes per contest in the G League, up from 14.7 in his 15 NBA games to date.
“It felt great. It’s one of those things where if you’re going hard enough in practice it’s what you’re used to in a game… every rep I want to go as hard as I can,” Dick said today at Toronto’s practice of his increased workload.
Gradey Dick on getting more minutes in the G League than he’d been given so far with the #Raptors:
“It felt great. It’s one of those things where if you’re going hard enough in practice it’s what you’re used to in a game. Every rep I want to go as hard as I can.” pic.twitter.com/KHpisdITiN
— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) December 4, 2023
And Dick felt there was a communal support of his stint with the 905.
“Talking to coach Darko [Rajaković], and, you know, even some of these guys that have gone through [the G League] is huge, to kind of pick their brains and see why that helped, and why it’s so important for development and going in with an open mind, and just wanting to work on the things that I need to work on,” Dick added. “I’m not gonna go in there and try to be a point guard and come off every screen and dribble 1,000 times.”
Raptors 905 hit the road for a three-game set this week in New York and Maine, though it seems unlikely Dick will be joining the team for the road swing.
Meanwhile, the Raptors return to action on Wednesday night, when they host the Miami Heat at Scotiabank Arena. Tipoff for that contest is set for 4:30 pm PT/7:30 pm ET.