🏀 This year’s Naz Reid…GRADEY DICK!

It’s no secret that the Stump has some magic JUJU when it comes to talking about awards. Last year, the boys were on Naz Reid before it was cool to be on Naz Reid. He went on to win 6th man of the year. This year, we’re talking Gradey Dick!

You would think that there isn’t much to talk about when it comes to the Toronto Raptors. They are 2-7 to start the season, and despite some close losses to some good teams, things just aren’t clicking early. Despite this, there is one surprise coming out of Toronto, and it’s 20-year-old Gradey Dick!

Gradey is now in his sophomore season in the NBA. Last year, he was drafted with the 13th overall pick out of Kansas. The Raptors sent him down to the G-League last November when they felt that a few games there would be best for his early development.

Well, he’s developed alright. 9 games into this season, he’s averaging 20 points per game off of 46% shooting. In the world of Luka’s, Tatum’s, and Jokic’s, we get lost in the crazy stat lines, but when a guy shows up and can score 20 points per game, that’s not shabby at all.

Listen, the main reason I was familiar with this guy was because of his name. Yeah, it’s ok, we can address the elephant in the room.

I mean, the name Gradey is a little unconventional!

Jokes aside that’s another reason I want to root for this guy. Can you imagine what he’s heard on the court since he was 8? He’s probably heard every line in the book! And he probably still does today. He responds by draining a three on your favorite player.

His usage is absolutely a little high right now in the absence of Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, but a shoutout to this guy was necessary!

The list of sophomores who have averaged 21 points per game on 60% true shooting in their first 8 games is a list of 9! It has Luka, D Wade, Ray Allen, Shaq, Pau Gasol, and now Gradey Dick. The guy is putting up numbers.

This is just a bookmark, we’ll come back to this in a month or two. But just keep an eye on Gradey Dick, and possibly a run to the league’s Most Improved Player!

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