Kansas Athletics
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Kansas guard Gradey Dick and forward Jalen Wilson were among the 58 players selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn Thursday night.
Dick was the overall No. 13 choice of the Toronto Raptors, while Wilson was taken by the Brooklyn Nets and was the No. 51 selection.
“I was obviously very happy for Gradey,” Kansas coach Bill Self said while exiting Barclays Center. “We had heard somewhere between 10 and 14 probably and he goes 13. I think that is a very good fit for him and Toronto. Jalen didn’t get drafted where he hoped he would but the bottom line is it’s all about fits at that point, once you get into the second round. I know his representation feels like it’s a really good fit and Brooklyn was very excited to get him. I’m happy with that and feel like he will have a heck of a chance to be a part of their roster.”
Dick becomes the 19th lottery selection in Kansas history and the 13th in the Bill Self era, w hich. Began in 2003-04. The NBA lottery began in 1985 and recognizes the top 14 players chosen in the NBA Draft. With the selections of Dick and Wilson, KU now has 87 all-time NBA Draft selections, including 29 in the Self era. Since the NBA adopted a two-round draft in 1989, Kansas has had 28 first-round selections and 42 total draft picks.
In one season at Kansas, Dick made a huge impact as he set the KU freshman record for three-point field goals made with 83. The Wichita, Kansas, native was named to the Big 12’s All-Freshman and All-Newcomer teams as well as being an all-league second team selection. A three-time Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, Dick was second on the team with a 14.1 scoring average, which ranked 12th in the Big 12, and his 5.1 rebounds per game were 15th in the league. Dick had seven games of 20 or more points during his season at KU.
In addition to his freshman-record 83 threes, Dick ranked on the KU freshman list in – points (4th at 507), scoring average (tied for 6th at 14.1), steals (7th with 52), field goals (5th with 174), field goals attempted (4th with 394), free throws made (tied for 9th with 79), free throw percentage (2nd at 85.4%), three point field goals attempted (2nd with 206), minutes played (2nd with 1,176), games played (tied for 9th with 36) and games started (tied for 2nd with 36).
Wilson, the 2023 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year, was Kansas’ 32nd all-time Consensus All-America First Team honoree following the 2022-23 season. The unanimous 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team selection, Wilson led the Big 12 in scoring at 20.1 points per game, rebounds at 8.3 and double-doubles with 12. The Denton, Texas, forward posted three 30-point performances and had 22 games of 20 or more points scored this season, including each of his last seven contests. Wilson is the seventh player in Big 12 history to lead the league in scoring and rebounding in the same season, including the fourth Jayhawk to earn the distinction.
Wilson is just the 10th player in Kansas men’s basketball history to record 1,400-plus career points and 800-plus career rebounds and the first since Perry Ellis (2013-16). Wilson’s 1,475 points rank 27th on the KU career list and his 802 rebounds are 14th in school history. Wilson’s 28 career double-doubles are ninth on the KU all-time list.
KANSAS NBA DRAFT HISTORY
Year – name (round/overall selection)
1948 – Otto Schnellbacher (Providence region)
1952 – Clyde Lovellette (1/10)
1953 – Dean Kelley (8/56), Gil Reich (11/32)
1954 – B.H. Born (3/22), Alan Kelley (7/56)
1957 – Maurice King (6/48)
1958 – Wilt Chamberlain (Territorial selection)
1959 – Ron Loneski (10/134)
1961 – Wayne Hightower (1/5), Bill Bridges (3/32)
1963 – Nolen Ellison (4/29)
1966 – Walt Wesley (1/6), Al Lopes (13/106)
1967 – Ron Franz (4/33)
1968 – Roger Bohnenstiel (9/120)
1969 – Jo Jo White (1/9), Dave Nash (4/48), Bruce Sloan (11/153)
1971 – Dave Robisch (3/44), Roger Brown (4/64), Pierre Russell (13/207)
1972 – Bud Stallworth (1/7)
1975 – Rick Suttle (7/110), Roger Morningstar (8/144)
1976 – Norm Cook (1/16)
1977 – Herb Nobles (6/124)
1978 – Ken Koenigs (5/99), John Douglas (6/118)
1979 – Paul Mokeski (2/42)
1981 – Darnell Valentine (1/16), Art Housey (3/47), John Crawford (7/160), Randolph Carroll (10/220)
1982 – Tony Guy (2/46), David Magley (2/28)
1984 – Carl Henry (4/80), Brian Martin (9/185)
1986 – Greg Drieling (2/26), Ron Kellogg (2/42), Calvin Thompson (4/71)
1988 – Danny Manning (1/1), Archie Marshall (3/75)
1990 – Kevin Pritchard (2/34)
1991 – Mark Randall (1/26)
1993 – Rex Walters (1/16), Adonis Jordan (2/42)
1994 – Darrin Hancock (2/38)
1995 – Greg Ostertag (1/28)
1997 – Scot Pollard (1/19), Jacque Vaughn (1/27)
1998 – Raef LaFrentz (1/3), Paul Pierce (1/10)
1999 – Ryan Robertson (2/45)
2001 – Eric Chenowith (2/42)
2002 – Drew Gooden (1/4)
2003 – Kirk Hinrich (1/7), Nick Collison (1/12)
2005 – Wayne Simien (1/29)
2007 – Julian Wright (1/13)
2008 – Brandon Rush (1/13), Darrell Arthur (1/27), Mario Chalmers (2/34), Darnell Jackson (2/52), Sasha Kaun (2/56)
2010 – Cole Aldrich (1/11), Xavier Henry (1/12)
2011 – Marcus Morris (1/13), Markieff Morris (1/14), Josh Selby (2/49)
2012 – Thomas Robinson (1/5), Tyshawn Taylor (2/41)
2013 – Ben McLemore (1/7), Jeff Withey (2/39)
2014 – Andrew Wiggins (1/1), Joel Embiid (1/3)
2015 – Kelly Oubre Jr. (1/15)
2016 – Cheick Diallo (2/33)
2017 – Josh Jackson (1/4), Frank Mason III (2/34)
2018 – Devonte’ Graham (2/34), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (2/47)
2020 – Udoka Azubuike (1/27)
2022 – Ochai Agbaji (1/14), Christian Braun (1/21)
2023 – Gradey Dick (1/13), Jalen Wilson (2/51)