Raptors first-round pick Gradey Dick raves about Toronto: 'I hit the jackpot'

Gradey Dick, the Toronto Raptors' first-round draft pick, met the local media at a press conference Monday morning.

After taking the internet by storm last Thursday, he was in more serious form and covered a number of topics, including his new number, who he wants to model his game after, and his first weekend in Toronto.

Here is a summary of Dick’s best moments from the press conference:

Draft night suit was "toned down"

Dick drew a lot of attention across the basketball world on draft night when his Wizard of Oz-themed red suit went viral, which was an homage to his home state of Kansas.

Incredibly, the 19-year-old admitted his suit could have been even crazier, but his pants that were matching the top didn’t fit.

“Toned it down, but still kept it pretty loud,” Dick said of his draft night suit.

He wore a slightly more conventional outfit on Monday in Toronto, rocking a pinstripe jacket with a white t-shirt underneath.

High school reunion

The newest Raptors first-round pick revealed that he will be wearing No. 1 with Toronto.

Dick wore No. 1 in high school, which he acknowledged was his preferred choice, but that number was not available at Kansas, so he switched to No. 4 instead.

Will Barton briefly wore No. 1 for the Raptors last season, but he is an unrestricted free agent. His future with the team remains unclear after he only appeared in 16 games with Toronto last season.

According to Basketball Reference, 17 players have worn No. 1 for Toronto before Dick, including Tracy McGrady, Chris Childs, P.J. Tucker, Jarrett Jack, Roko Ukic, Primoz Brezec, and Rod Strickland.

Hitting the jackpot in Toronto

Toronto was an ideal landing spot for Dick given how much the organization lacked quality shooting on last year’s team. Off the court, the 13th-overall pick was thoroughly impressed with his new home during his first weekend in the city.

Dick was able to take in some sights on a beautiful weekend with great weather, including attending a Toronto Blue Jays game on Sunday with new Raptors guard Markquis Nowell, who went undrafted before joining the club.

Dick was also posing for pictures with fans throughout the weekend at some of Toronto’s landmarks.

Studying Reggie Miller and Klay Thompson

In a more serious question, the rookie Raptors shooter said some of the NBA players he studies the closest include Klay Thompson and Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, and Indiana Pacers great Reggie Miller, who are among the best shooters in league history.

Dick mentioned one area that he believes will be critical at the next level will be conditioning. He has heard J.R. Smith mention the importance of conditioning in a few of his podcast episodes and realizes how important that will be for keeping up with NBA defences and the ability to break them down.

Another interesting tidbit that Dick mentioned towards the end of his press conference was that his father had a poster of Fred VanVleet at his house that said "Undrafted" on it. It remains up in the air if Dick and VanVleet will get to be teammates in Toronto, as the veteran guard opted out of his contract and will be one of the highest-paid players in free agency next week.