Raptors' Gradey Dick hits milestone in skid-snapping win vs. Nets
01/01/2025 11:40 PM
The 2024-25 season hasn’t exactly gone smoothly for the Toronto Raptors. They were not expected to win too many games this year as they continued their rebuild, but they have fallen on hard times as of late. To end the calendar year of 2024, the Raptors lost 11 straight games — including four straight that they lost by double digits, with their most painful defeat being a 125-71 demolition at the hands of the Boston Celtics. But to start 2025, the Raptors snapped their long losing streak with a 130-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
The star of the show was Scottie Barnes, who tallied 33 point and 13 rebounds in the Raptors’ convincing win over the Nets. But he wasn’t alone in leading Toronto to victory lane. In fact, Gradey Dick continued his sophomore emergence, as he put up 22 points of his own on 9-17 shooting from the floor (4-8 from beyond the arc).
In the process, Dick has now crossed the 1,000-point mark in his career, needing 88 games to do so. He became the fourth-youngest player in Raptors franchise history to cross the thousand-point mark, as per StatMuse on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The youngest player to score 1,000 points for the Raptors franchise is none other than Tracy McGrady; McGrady may have done so in his third season for the team, but he was only 18 years of age when he entered the league, so he had time on his side. He crossed the 1,000-point mark when he was 20 years and 179 days old.
The second-youngest to do so for the Raptors is Dick’s teammate Barnes, who stepped into a featured role for the team as soon as he was drafted. During his rookie campaign, Barnes already crossed 1,000 points for his career, but he was already 20 years and 235 days old when he did. The third-youngest is Chris Bosh, who was 20 years and 240 days old when he scored the 1,000th point of his career. For reference, Dick is currently 21 years and 43 days old.
Gradey Dick shows that he’s a keeper in Raptors’ rebuild
Gradey Dick, the 13th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, is showing that he’s a keeper in the Raptors’ rebuild. His skillset makes him perfect for today’s NBA, as he can score from all three levels and he doesn’t need to command the ball as much to do damage.
This off-ball skillset of his makes him an ideal player to put alongside the likes of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett, and he has plenty of room to grow still, as he only recently turned 21 years of age.
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