Kansas basketball’s two selections in the 2023 NBA Draft — Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson — will play against each other professionally for the first time today.
Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson became accustomed to playing alongside each other as Kansas Jayhawks, but they’ll be wearing different jerseys when they take the floor together for the first time in nearly four months.
The Brooklyn Nets will square off against the Toronto Raptors today at 4:00 p.m. CT. Both former Kansas basketball standouts are expected to start, so there is a chance that they are provided the task of guarding one another.
Dick, who was selected by the Raptors with the 13th overall pick, has averaged 14.3 points per game across three Summer League contests. He’s viewed as a vital part of Toronto’s future with his outside shooting ability and terrific size at the wing position.
Meanwhile, Wilson was not as highly touted coming out of college despite garnering Consensus First Team All-American honors as a senior and winning Big 12 Player of the Year. Brooklyn took him No. 51 overall, and he recently inked a two-way contract with the organization for this upcoming season.
The college careers of Dick and Wilson were polar opposites. Dick was a lifelong Kansas fan and committed to the university as a 5-star prospect out of high school. After a successful freshman year, he headed to the NBA as a one-and-done. Wilson, on the other hand, played three seasons at KU and used a redshirt year, slowly climbing up the ranks until he was one of the best players in the nation.
While it’ll certainly be different for the Kansas basketball fanbase to witness these two on opposing teams, it’ll be fun to watch a pair of KU rookies competing. Perhaps they will perform a jersey swap at the end of the game or post a picture on social media.
The game can be viewed on ESPN2.
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