Brandon Gonez sits down with Toronto Raptors Guard Gradey Dick to talk about his love for the city.
Gradey Dick might only be three seasons into his Raptors career, but he’s already leaning into everything he loves about Toronto — the nonstop food scene, the vibes, and even the local slang.
The Wichita, Kansas native was picked 13th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft and moved to Toronto with his family soon after. Since then, he tells Brandon he’s really grown to love the city — especially the people.
“I always talk about the Canadian genuineness, just how nice everyone is,” Dick tells The Brandon Gonez Show. “Wherever we go, there’s always people welcoming us with open arms.”
He admits he hasn’t fully explored Toronto yet — the east and west ends are still on his to-do list — and he mostly sticks to the downtown core. But he’s definitely making the most of his time there, especially when it comes to restaurants. Poutine didn’t exactly blow him away (“just OK,” he shrugs), but he’s a big fan of Thai spot PAI.
“That’s probably one of our family’s favorite places,” he said, adding that he even celebrated his birthday there in late November. “The people there are amazing.”
GRADEY DICK TALKS TORONTO SLANG AND LOVING ‘CARIBANA’
Another thing Dick’s gotten into? Toronto slang. Thanks to teammates and hometown boys A.J. Lawson and RJ Barrett, he’s picked up enough to recognize a few keywords when he hears them around the locker room.
“The bares, the two-twos… marved, hungry, stuff like that,” he laughed. “It’s cool. It’s different, obviously, but every place has its own thing.”
But his favourite Toronto tradition? Hands down, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival. He says the parade was one of his best experiences in the city. In his rookie year, he rode on a float with Adidas and walked with the crowd while soca blasted through the streets.
“It was amazing,” he said. “The love in the city, the costumes, the music… it’s such a vibe. I loved it.”
He joked that you won’t catch him wining anytime soon — “no bubbles,” he laughed — saying he’s staying loyal to his longtime girlfriend.
Dick mentioned in a post-season interview earlier this year that he was excited to go to the parade again (or “Caribana,” as he still calls it), but told Brandon he hasn’t been able to make it back these past two years because of other commitments.
As the Raptors push through their season — still sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference despite dropping two games after a nine-game win streak — Dick says the team is focused on doing whatever it takes to chase a championship. And he made sure to shout out fans in Toronto and across Canada for sticking with them.
“We want to win. We want it for the whole country. It’s not just for a state like other NBA teams. We’ve got the whole country behind us, and that gives us extra motivation,” he said.
“We have the best support in the league. We go to some cities — not trying to compare — but we see the support they get. And then we look at ours, and you just can’t compare. It’s amazing here.”
Watch the full episode on The Brandon Gonez Show YouTube page.
