Our own Derek Parker gave you his top five shooters in the 2023 NBA Draft back in September and the prospect at the top of that list, Gradey Dick, requires a deeper dive.
The 6-foot-8 wing from Wichita, KS (Sunrise Christian Academy) headed to the University of Kansas has some questions about his game but he possesses an absolute elite skill that every NBA team covets, shooting.
According to the team’s site, Gradey Dick shot 47% from 3-point range on almost 80 attempts this past season.
Even if he was not playing in the premier high school league in the country, those shooting numbers would be impressive. The fact that he was able to shoot at that level, against that competition, with the kind of attention he was getting from opposing defensive gameplans makes it that much more spectacular.
At 6-foot-8 with a high release and very little dip in his shooting motion, Dick is able to get his shot off quickly and over contests in catch and shoot situations. He is simply the type of shooter that defenses will refuse to help off of and if they make the mistake of doing so, he will make you pay regardless of how good your rotation or recovery is.
The value this type of shooting gravity brings to an offense will immediately make an impact. His presence on the floor will open up driving lanes for the primary creators he will play with.
While not a creator himself, one of those above mentioned question marks in his overall game, Dick can make shots off the dribble.
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If the on-ball defender gets hung up on a ball screen or the big doesn’t step up hard enough, Dick is able to rise up and knock down a shot off the bounce. He is also able to use his 3-point shooting acumen to shot fake a close out and create open one-two dribble pull-ups. The Kansas freshman is very fluid going either direction into these pull up shots off the dribble.
The area of his 3-point shooting that is most intriguing but does still require some growth is running off of screens. It is one thing to be a stand still knock down shooter and something completely different if you are able to bring that same level of shot making with movement. The value of his catch-and-shoot for an offense’s spacing is significant, but being able to run him off screening actions would make it that much more substantial.
The reason for optimism that Dick will be able to do this is that he has been running off these types of actions with Sunrise Christian Academy. The film shows him using baseline triples, floppy action, staggered, screen the screener and other actions that you can see when watching an NBA game.
It will be interesting, and noteworthy, if Bill Self and his staff continue to use him in these ways. He does have some work to do and room for growth, a left lean that causes misses to be short, but you would be hard pressed not to bet on the development.
Dick will not be mistaken for the best defender or best ball creator in the 2023 NBA Draft class, but right now he sits atop the list of the best shooters, something that NBA teams will take notice of and value come draft night.
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