Kansas forward Gradey Dick declares for 2023 NBA Draft

Following a fantastic freshman year with the Kansas Jayhawks, star forward Gradey Dick has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft. Dick helped the Jayhawks secure a top seed entering the NCAA Tournament this season with their performance, although their run ended in disappointing fashion with a second-round loss to eight-seed Arkansas.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported the news on Twitter in a post that read: “Kansas freshman Gradey Dick will enter the 2023 NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility, he told @malika_andrews on ESPN’s NBA Today.”

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.

More on the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.

To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.

While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move is on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until June 12 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 16, which is also the start of the NBA Conference Finals.