Gradey Dick did not have the greatest start to his NBA career. The No. 13 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft played sporadically through his first 40 games in the league, shooting a horrendous 28.2 percent from the field and 23.9 percent from 3.
Dick has turned the corner on that rough beginning. He re-entered the Raptors' rotation towards the middle of January and has played in all of the team's last 16 games.
Over that stretch, Dick has averaged 9.8 points per game on 52.6 percent shooting from the field, 46.8 percent from 3 and 80.0 percent from the line in 20.2 minutes per game. He's looking like one of the more promising rookies in his draft class.
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Gradey Dick's shooting is for real
Dick was drafted first and foremost for his shooting. He hit 40.3 percent of his 3s in his one year at Kansas and is sitting at 38.2 percent so far in the NBA.
Some parts of that high-level shooting skill have translated, while others are still in the works.
One area in which Dick looks better than he did in college is in his motion shooting. The Raptors have utilized him coming off flare screens and pin-downs. He has a great knack for relocating away from the ball, either lifting up or sinking down to create better passing angles. And he's been solid off pump fakes.
Dick has been automatic from the corner. Norman Powell and Grayson Allen are the only wings who have shot better than his 58.8 percent on corner 3s since Jan. 1.
Dick is still having trouble adjusting to the further out above the break 3s, though — he's connecting on just 26.1 percent of those looks. That number should rise as he gets more acclimated to the further-out NBA line.
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Gradey Dick is more than just a shooter
Dick is going to be on the floor for his shooting, but he also knows how to use that threat to become more dangerous in other parts of his game.
The Raptors use Dick off screens constantly. When he gets defenders on his hip, he can take it all the way to the rim. More commonly, he will take a dribble to get the defense to commit before kicking out quickly to set up a teammate for a 3 or layup.
He has also been an opportunistic cutter, mastering the timing of running in from the corner.
Dick's finishing at the basket has been a pleasant surprise. After looking completely overmatched to start the season, he's calmed down and shown nice touch, hitting 75.0 percent of his shots at the rim since Jan. 1. That's an elite mark, ranking in the 89th percentile of all wings.
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Gradey Dick no longer looks overmatched physically
Dick isn't a great on-ball defender. He has below-average lateral quickness and is going to get targeted on that end of the floor. He will give up some ugly blow-bys. But his good 6-6 positional size helps him, and he has also put on some muscle throughout the season.
"It’s not only just all being strong, it’s actually taking care of your diet and feeling energized out there," Dick told Eric Koreen The Athletic. "I think those are little things that I’m trying to lock in on — a lot of things I’m learning now that I probably didn’t know as much in the past.”
Dick still does have some work to do on that end — watch former teammates O.G. Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa bowl him over as an example — but his progress should be noted.
"His body is slowly changing," Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic told Koreen. "When he walked in, he looked like he was 16. Now, he looks like he’s 17 and a half.”
Dick already has many of the difficult defensive rotations nailed down. He knows when to tag the roller and recover to shooters. He's good at zoning up the weak side of the floor and picking off passes. More than that, the effort is there. He leads the team in charges drawn despite being 10th in minutes played. That is the result of generally being in the right spot.
The progress that Dick has made in just a few short months has been remarkable. And having just turned 20, there is a lot more room for him to grow. He's been one of the major bright spots in this final stretch of the season for the Raptors. He's a solid building block for their future.
