From Wichita to Toronto: Raptors' Gradey Dick details his journey to the NBA

Long before Gradey Dick ended up playing for the Toronto Raptors, he was making a name for himself as one of the top high school players in Kansas history.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Dick eventually stayed with his home state when he committed to the Kansas Jayhawks as a five-star recruit, following in the footsteps of three older siblings who had also attended the school.

Dick, who was selected 13th overall in last year’s NBA Draft by the Raptors, was one of the most highly recruited players in his high school class of 2022, having won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award in his senior season at Sunrise Christian Academy.

He ended up playing just one season at Kansas before departing for the NBA, but it’s clear as day to anyone that knows Dick how impactful his NCAA experience was.

On his off days in his NBA rookie season, it’s not uncommon to see Dick keeping a close eye on his former squad.

“I think it just goes back to the people. Not necessarily a location, but just the people and the connections and relationships that you make along the way,” Dick said in an interview with Daily Hive. “With me being born there and having all my siblings go through the university, just growing up going to Kansas games… that [was] my dream school. Some of the teammates are gonna be my boys for life… I always feel like it’s good to support that.”

While Kansas, the school, has been a long NCAA powerhouse, the state itself hasn’t exactly been a hotbed for birthing a lot of NBA players.

Just 38 players in NBA history have been born in the state, with only 23 Kansas-born players ever playing 100 or more games in the league.

Having played his last game in college a year ago this week — on March 18, 2023 — Dick’s Jayhawks are looking to win their second NCAA title in the last three years after winning it all in 2022.

The Jayhawks enter this year’s NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed, playing Thursday against Samford, while the women’s team plays this Saturday as a No. 8 seed against Michigan.

And with Dick officially announcing his commitment to Kansas three years ago this month, he admitted the path to the college and pro ranks wasn’t without a few bumps in the road.

After spending the first three years as a high school student at Wichita Collegiate, he decided to go the prep school route for his final year when he committed to Sunrise Christian Academy.

“It was different, I’m used to being at my old high school, kind of being ‘the guy’ in your small school… you go into a school where you have the whole starting five being [future Division 1 NCAA] players and kind of having to go through a little struggle, and those are kind of the little struggles that you go through,” Dick said. “[But] when you have people that have your back along the way, and you can kind of just learn to get out of it, [you can] just play the same game that you’ve been playing since a little kid.”

At age 20, Dick is the youngest member of the Raptors. But despite being in his first professional season, he’s found himself often being looked up to as a role model for youth across Toronto and the rest of Canada.

One of the most recent experiences came this week as part of a new partnership with Gillette’s Choose Your Game Face advertising campaign and the National Basketball Youth Mentorship Program (NBYMP). Dick was joined by Raptors teammate Gary Trent Jr. at a recent basketball clinic run by NBYMP in Toronto to help serve as a mentor to a group of young basketball players.

“I think it’s just going through experiences with high school and college. And really, going back all the way to just growing up in my household, learning leadership roles through my dad that he engraved in me and my three other siblings’ heads, of just working your hardest on anything,”

Dick added about how he sees himself as a leader to young players. “You can say you’ve been there and then it kind of gives you a chance to help other people along the way. And whether it be other teammates on your team, people in your community… I just have a thankful mindset of being able to do that.”

Navigating through his first NBA season as one of the league’s youngest players, Dick says he’s now looking up to the Raptors’ veterans and players around the league in order to find out how to manage having a long pro career.

Though his first year in the league included a stretch from November 24 through January 16, where he suited up for just five games at the NBA level, Dick’s been treating the whole year as a learning experience.

“[I’m] finding different things and just learning from the older people and the older guys on my team… it’s important to do that because the longevity [of their careers] is special,” he said.

But away from the court, his group of mentors hasn’t changed much over the years.

“I always just try to keep my circle small,” he added. “I really just have two best friends and my family in my circle and coaches and teachers that I grew up with. I think they do a better job at just keeping my head on straight and not letting different distractions get in my circle.”

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