The 13th pick of the shooting guard, one more player

On the same day that Mitchell, who was the 13th pick in the first round in 2017, and Booker, who was the 13th pick in the first round in 2015, got the best of the week at the same time, Grady Dick, who is the 13th pick in the first round in 2023, is also killing all sides.

Against the Nuggets, Dick was 10-of-20 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range to finish with 26 points, 5 assists, 3 steals and 4 turnovers. In fact, he scored 21 points at the beginning of the second half, but unfortunately there was some stagnation on the offensive end at the back, and the three turnovers in the final quarter paid some tuition.

But in addition to three turnovers in the final quarter, Dick also had two very good assists. The Raptors, a young team, have almost beaten the Nuggets twice so far this season, both of which were made in the final stages. The Raptors, like Dick, have a lot of room for error to improve.

You may not believe it, but Dick is now the leading scorer of all sophomores, ahead of Wemban, Chet, and Koulibaly, who has improved just as much this season. In eight games between seasons, Dick averaged 21.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three-point range.

Dick scored 20+ in four of his 60 games in his rookie season and has 20+ in five of his eight games this season. He's 20+ in four straight games, including 30+ in losses to the Lakers and Hornets.

The 31 points against the Lakers was a career high for Dick. Dick's three-point shooting percentage isn't much of an improvement from his rookie season of 37 percent, but you have to consider that he has more than doubled his shots from his rookie season, and he can still consume those balls well in an environment where he has a lot of possession, and his efficiency continues to improve.

He feels very confident in his shots, especially after running off the ball, and his shots are very high, making the most of his advantages as a high-guard shooter. He shot 93 percent from the free-throw line this season, making 26 of 28 free throws in eight games, which is enough to show that his shooting skills have gone further.

Remember that in the first 20 games of last season, Dick averaged 3.3 points per game, shooting 28.2% from the field and 23.9% from three-point range. As one of the best shooters in last year's draft, Dick didn't seem to fit in with the league when he first entered the NBA.

He also struggled quite a bit in the early days of the Development League, shooting less than 30% from three-point range, and was once labeled as a parallel import. But the Raptors are definitely very patient with Dick's development, which is completely different from the Lakers' development of Schifino.

After Dick gradually regained his crosshairs in the Development League, the Raptors launched special training for Dick, starting with training for Dick's strength, confrontation and physical strength. The Raptors head coach said: "Grady Dick is the future of our team, but he needs to achieve some goals before we can get him on the court. ”

Rajakovic, the head coach of the Raptors, was the Grizzlies' chief assistant coach before coming to the Raptors, where he trained an excellent second-position shooter like Bane, so Raja has a say in the development of shooters.

And the ultimate goal of the Raptors is definitely not satisfied with making Dick a catch-and-shoot shooter. The Raptors wanted Dick to contribute as a pick-and-roll leader and dribble playmaker, and last season, he didn't get much of an opportunity in either of those areas.

After an off-season training session, Dick has shown a variety of offensive tactics since the start of Summer League, as well as a real playmaker with the ball. While shooting is still Dick's primary way of impacting the game, there has been a lot of improvement in other areas, especially his ball-handling potential.

It can be seen that physical fitness is a very crucial part of the transition of college players to the NBA, because the NCAA and the NBA are very different. Only when you adapt to the rhythm of the game here, at least you can run effortlessly, and you can do the movements better.

With 20+ in 5 games in 8 games, Dick has been seen by many as a strong contender for the most improved player. Dick didn't make it to the top 10 in the rookie first and second teams last season, and now he's left a lot of them behind.

Therefore, as long as you are young, you still have a chance, your life, and his career are far from over. Don't rush to define yourself, and don't care about other people's definitions of you, work hard from now on, everything is still in time.