The NBA has taken Gradey Dick around the country, but it hasn’t taken him away from home.
For the second straight offseason, the 21-year-old Toronto Raptors guard has made Wichita his base — not just to train, but to give back.
“This is the city that raised me,” Dick said. “I grew up here and the more that I travel around and go to different cities, it gives me a whole new appreciation for the town that I grew up in.”
DIck, who recently wrapped up his second NBA season with improved averages of 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, will host two events in Wichita on back-to-back days in what he hopes becomes a long-standing tradition in his hometown.
On Sunday afternoon, he’ll host the second annual Gradey Dick Youth Basketball Camp at Wichita Hoops for boys and girls ages 6 to 16. Registration is $137, available online. On Monday, he’ll host his first-ever charitable golf tournament at Crestview Country Club with proceeds going to local charities.
“My parents taught me at a young age that whatever we can do with our platforms, however big or small, use them to the best of our ability and give back to others,” Dick said. “So I feel like I have a good opportunity to do that with these events.”
That desire to stay grounded is part of why Dick has stayed in Wichita for his offseason training, too. Rather than escape to the usual NBA hotspots, Dick chooses to work out in his hometown. The Raptors even send Dick’s personal shooting coach with the team out to Wichita for several weeks of focused training.
After starting his high school career at Collegiate, Dick finished it as the Gatorade National Player of the Year at Sunrise Christian Academy. A one-and-done year at Kansas helped catapult him to the NBA as a lottery pick.
And while vacations do happen, his base throughout it all has remained here in Wichita.
“It was a no-brainer,” Dick said of hosting both events in Wichita. “Once that last game of the season hits and you’re in offseason mode, I’m always itching to get back to Wichita. It’s almost like a reset. I get to see my family and just driving around the town that I know the best, it grounds me.”
The youth camp is especially meaningful for Dick, who remembers attending similar camps as a kid growing up in Wichita.
“I just remember walking in and seeing kids with my name on their shirts for camp,” Dick said of last summer’s inaugural event. “I was just blown away. It wasn’t that long ago when I was in their shoes. I felt the buzz around the camp and it was just crazy to be on the other side of it and be the one helping them out. It was definitely a surreal moment.”
This year’s addition is the golf tournament, a new passion project born from a recent obsession.
Dick never played golf growing up — he was basketball first, baseball second — but like many NBA players, he’s found peace on the links. He’s still new to the game, but he’s hooked.
“Baseball was my second sport growing up, so I had a little technique with the swing, I just didn’t know where the ball would go,” Dick joked. “I used to like to go to Top Golf with my buddies, but now it’s an addiction for sure.”