The 2023-24 season wrapped up for the Toronto Raptors, marking the end of Gradey Dick’s rookie campaign.
While it was not an ideal start from Dick, it was good to see him close out this year strong. After getting sent to the G-League, his confidence never wavered, especially as a shooter.
When looking at the former Kansas Jayhawk’s rookie year, he averaged 8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists on 42.5 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three.
Due to injuries, Dick saw more time on the floor and hopefully getting that experience bodes well moving forward. The 20-year-old reflected on his first season in the league, pointing out resilience and growth, via the Raptors:
“To be honest probably the most I’ve dealt with and struggled you know in one season. And I think it taught me a lot about myself and I always go back to kind of the coolest thing my parents said…without struggle you know your story is not gonna be worth being told. If you can’t fight through that and be resilient then what makes a good story? So I feel like kind of going through that and being resilient and just trying to play the game I’ve been playing since I was little and getting comfortable out there. It tells me a lot about myself.”
Rookies usually go through an adjustment period when playing in the NBA and it is great to see Dick never get too high or too low. However, this final month of April was a solid building block for the rookie as he averaged 15.4 points and 4.6 rebounds on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent from three.
It’s also worth mentioning that he dropped a career-high 24 points against the Brooklyn Nets on April 12.
Jakob Poeltl says injury process has been frustrating
It was a tough 2023-24 season for the Raptors as they experienced many injuries. Jakob Poeltl was one of the players for Toronto who missed a chunk of time. His 50 games played this season are the fewest of his career.
Poeltl recently opened about what the recovery process for him has been like and how he’s progressing going into the summer.
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