It's official.
After missing well over a month due to a "right knee injury," Raptors fans have received a conclusive update on their 21-year-old sophomore rising star, Gradey Dick.
On the evening of April 4, TSN Raptors insider Josh Lewenberg announced on X that the Raptors would be shutting Dick down from on-court action for the final games of the 2024-25 regular season.
Gradey Dick officially ruled out for remainder of the 2024-25 Raptors season
Dick's sophomore year showed a lot of promise early in the season, especially as he was thrust into a more prominent role due to the Raptors facing significant injury adversity. The ex-Kansas product stepped up to help fill the need for scoring options.
However, as the team returned to full strength and his talented co-stars got their groove back in the starting lineup, Dick largely became the Raptors' odd man out with his role on the team becoming a lot less clear.
What Dick brought to the table became redundant, and he wasn't gaining scoring momentum as he once did. As a result, he quickly fell from a promising position in the Most Improved Player category back to Earth.
After this year's All-Star Game, I wrote an article mentioning how Dick might be the team's most important player after the break, considering he was the only Raptors player represented at All-Star Weekend and had a breakout performance there.
That said, his post-All-Star break stats left a lot to be desired: Dick played in only six games, averaging 9.2 points on a weak 36% shooting from the field, a solid 40% from three, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 steals, in just over 28 minutes of action per night.
At the end of his sophomore season, Dick's 2024-25 season numbers look like this: 14.4 points (up from 8.5 PPG in his rookie year), 3.6 rebounds (up from 2.2), and 1.8 assists (up from 1.1) per game in just over 29 minutes of playing time.
His shooting efficiency could still use some work, as his field goal percentage has decreased from his rookie to sophomore year (42.5% to 41.0%), and his three-point percentage also dipped (36.5% to 35.0%). Dick also showed a greater tendency to turn the ball over this year, increasing to 1.5 turnovers per game from 0.8 in his rookie season.
Even more concerning, statistics were emerging to suggest that Raptors star Scottie Barnes was not meshing well with Dick's talents, rendering the young duo largely ineffective for Toronto.
I think Gradey Dick still has a shot to be an impactful player for the Toronto Raptors, but I'd be lying if I said I’m sure about where he stands in the Raptors’ pecking order moving forward. There's a valid argument to be made that players like Ja'Kobe Walter and Ochai Agbaji have him beat for backup guard/wing rotation minutes, as they provide a better defensive boost to go with their scoring ability.
I'm holding out hope that Dick can not only recover from his injury but also use this impending offseason to fine-tune his defense and further elevate himself into a more polished NBA talent. His shooting touch is nice, but if there's no defense to support, Dick might get lost in the shuffle.