Gradey Dick shares NBA player he models his game after

With the 2023 NBA Draft set to take place on Thursday, some of the top players likely to be taken have been on media tours discussing all things basketball as they get ready for the new chapter in their journey. One of those players is former Kansas Jayhawks wing, Gradey Dick.

Dick recently had a sit-down interview with NBA insider Shams Charania. There, the former Jayhawk revealed which NBA players he likes to watch and model his game after.

“Guys are versatile. Not really one main player, but guys like Paul George with his height. The way he can kind of handle the rock, and he still likes to get to his spots and everything and shows versatility on the court,” said Dick. “Stuff I tried to add to my stuff from guys, obviously shooters. Klay Thompson, his footwork is one of the best. The way he gets squared up on the basket is what I try to model.

“And then great shooters. Obviously, you have to watch Steph (Curry). And you see this year with podcast coming out with his underrated conditioning, how he runs around, exhausts the defense, and it is impossible to guard him and still get shots up for him. So knowing that as the shooter and the way you can kind of do to get defenses to chill out on you is important as a shooter and as a player in general.”

Thompson and Curry are arguably the greatest backcourt duo in NBA history and the greatest shooters of all time. If Dick is able to improve his shooting ability watching those two, he is sure to carve out a role on a roster for years to come.

More on Dick

Entering this season, Dick was a potential draft pick to watch out for, with multiple draft boards predicting him as a lottery pick in this year’s draft. A 6’8″, athletic shooting threat makes him a high-value prospect — as well as his ability to excel at Kansas as a defender and scoring threat.

Dick was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team this year, the All-Big 12 Newcomer Team and the All-Big 12 Freshman Team. His name also came up in discussions for the Wooden Award in the middle of the season after making the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. He finished his freshman season averaging 14.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during the regular season, including 13 points and 9 rebounds averaged through his two tournament games. He also ended the season with 83 made threes while shooting 40.3 percent from beyond the arc.

On3’s Austin Brezina contributed to this story