Most of the teams that enter the 2024-2025 NBA Season have hopes of a potential playoff push. There are a few other teams that know they have a long way to go in order to become playoff contenders.
The Toronto Raptors (2-10) know they have a long hike to potentially get to the top of the NBA mountain. While they lack the current stars to make them an elite team, the Raptors have some solid young talent they can grow and develop.
One of their star young players is already making a name for himself by performing up to same measures of fellow NBA Draft class representative and last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama.
The Raptors haven’t been the same team since their 2019 NBA Championship. They knew they were in a direct rebuild when they lost point guard Fred VanVleet in free agency to the Houston Rockets before the start of last season.
The team was able to find their No. 1 option by trading for New York Knicks guard/forward R.J. Barrett from the New York Knicks. Barrett wouldn’t be enough for the Raptors to recover as a franchise.
Toronto drafted Kansas guard Gradey Dick with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to be a potential star. He played well in bursts, but ultimately averaged 8.5 points per game in his first season in the league.
This season, however, Dick is playing at a whole new level for a desperate Raptors. Through 12 starts this season, Dick is averaging 20.1 points per game shooting a field goal percentage of 44.8%, a three-point shooting percentage of 37.3% and a free-throw shooting percentage of 88.5%. He is also averaging 2.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
He is currently outperforming his fellow 2023 NBA Draft class in their second of the season, including San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama is averaging 19.7 points per game, but there is a clear separation with an injured Chet Holmgren averaging 16.4 points per game for Oklahoma City.
Toronto hasn’t been to the postseason in three of the last four seasons. The 2021-2022 NBA Season was also the last time the Raptors accumulated a winning record. If the season ended today, Toronto would finish last in the Eastern Conference for the third consecutive season.
The Raptors are seeing a huge season push from their young star, who possesses a lot of different tangibles to be highly efficient on offense.
This season is all about development for Dick to be an explosive star, Barnett to be a leader and see the potential of two rookies in guard Ja’Kobe Walter and center Jonathan Mogbo.
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