Gradey Dick shares his mindset ahead of third Toronto Raptors season
When the Toronto Raptors selected Gradey Dick in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft, they knew they had a potential star on their hands.
Now entering his third year of his pro career, the former Kansas standout knows there’s still a long road ahead for him to be considered among the NBA’s best.
A starter in all 54 games he suited up for last season for Toronto, the consensus was that Dick still likely had plenty of room for improvement after his sophomore campaign.
While his scoring totals went up from 8.5 to 14.4 points per game, Dick’s shooting numbers from just about every area on the floor went down.
“I’m only 21, so you got to keep it going… a lot of work to do,” Dick said late last week of his offseason work to keep up to NBA speed.
Particularly since the acquisition of Brandon Ingram last season, the Raptors have been faced with a bit of a roster crunch. Much like 2024 first-round pick Ja’Kobe Walter, that leaves less-established players fighting for minutes.
And in the modern NBA, just about everyone knows that the Raptors could ship players out of town at a moment’s notice, as only six of the 21 players on Toronto’s training camp roster are home-grown.
“It’s your job at the end of the day. You’re going against each other off the court, you’re best friends on the court. Now you want to make each other better,” Dick added.
Most NBA pundits aren’t expecting much from Toronto, which has not made the playoffs since a six-game defeat in the first round in 2022. For example, ESPN’s projection model gives Toronto just a 34 per cent shot at the postseason.
One positive for the youngster to look forward to in the season ahead comes from the Raptors’ cohesiveness away from the games.
“I always just say it’s what we do off the court, and how our relationships are, how close we are, and we have a lot of fun. I feel like when you have that chemistry already built, it’s easy to go on the court and kind of know what [our teammates] do as players.”
After their final two preseason games this week, the Raptors open their season on October 22 on the road against the Atlanta Hawks.
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