Fred VanVleet Articles - Page 9

When a player has It, a metaphysical quality sports discourse seemingly has no better term for, it’s fairly easy to recognize. Toronto Raptors talent Scottie Barnes has It, and though he hasn’t had too many opportunities to showcase that in highly intense moments throughout the course of his rookie season, the aura of that abstract […]

The Toronto Raptors endured what was an absolutely grueling triple-overtime affair against the Miami Heat on Saturday night. But if it wasn’t for Scottie Barnes, it never would’ve gotten past regulation time. The rookie drew a foul on Jimmy Butler with less than three seconds remaining with the Raptors down two. Most 20-year-olds wouldn’t have […]

It wasn’t a particularly sharp night for the Toronto Raptors. Playing down to the competition, however, has been a proclivity of the team for most of the season thus far. Most recently, it happened it Detroit, when the Raptors simply came out flat as week-old ginger ale against the Pistons. On Friday night, it happened […]

All it took was a Bobby Portis pseudo-headbutt to reignite the Toronto Raptors’ gritty spirit and awaken them fully from the stupor that accompanies every Dwane Casey-led Detroit Pistons matchup. Midway through the first quarter, with the Raptors trailing the Milwaukee Bucks 22-7 and looking every bit as lethargic as they had the night prior, […]

Kyle Lowry unfortunately might not get a standing ovation in his return to Toronto due to COVID protocols, but his Raptors teammates will surely give him a warm welcome. Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry’s former protégé, talked about the latter’s return to Toronto after signing with the Miami Heat in the offseason. The Raptors guard spoke […]

The Toronto Raptors had their six-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night, but it just may have been one of the team’s more uplifting matchups of the season. Locking horns with the Western Conference-leading Phoenix Suns, essentially the same team that carved a path to The Finals last postseason, the Raptors displayed grit, energy, and […]

It’s one of the most impressive aspects of Fred VanVleet’s magnificent season with the Toronto Raptors: He’s done all of it while adjusting to a new role on the team (following in the footsteps of Kyle Lowry) and the increased attention that comes with it. No longer are defenses simply treating VanVleet as a largely […]

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams knows very well of the challenge that awaits them when they play the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday: Fred VanVleet. The Raptors are on a roll, winning six straight games now behind the brilliant play of FVV. VanVleet has been a beast for Toronto in their recent streak, as he […]

Fred VanVleet’s magical run continued Sunday evening in the Toronto Raptors 105-101 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, but it wasn’t the easiest chapter in his season’s story. Entering the fourth quarter of a tight game against the Pelicans, VanVleet was having one of his tougher shooting nights. Even with the defense keyed in on […]

Fred VanVleet will always be known as one of the best undrafted players in NBA history, especially after signing a four-year, $85 million extension last offseason. He barely made the Toronto Raptors roster in 2017, but he is now the catalyst of their offense and the best player on the team. Despite the early season […]

History. That’s what it took to save the Toronto Raptors from a hellacious and, frankly, bizarre game against the Utah Jazz, who were heavily depleted thanks to a mix of injuries and health and safety protocols. Nonetheless, in the third quarter, it came. Fred VanVleet was unconscious in that frame, ripping off a 17-0 personal […]

Fred VanVleet is having one hell of a season. The Toronto Raptors point guard has been on an upward trajectory in his career since featuring as a sixth man a few years ago. Now, finally handed the keys to the offense with Kyle Lowry leaving, VanVleet is making the most out of this opportunity. Against […]

The Utah Jazz appeared to be on the way to an easy win against the Toronto Raptors after scoring 40 points in the first quarter and ending the half with a 13-point lead…that is until Fred VanVleet happened. Simply put, FVV caught fire in the third quarter to not only put the Raptors back in […]

Toronto Raptors fans aren’t the only ones gushing about Fred VanVleet’s magnificent season.  VanVleet’s teammates, of course, know better than anyone else just how special his year has been amidst a multitude of league- and team-wide challenges—some foreseen and some unexpected. For rookie Scottie Barnes, who’s having a bright campaign of his own, FVV has […]

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet is playing at an All-Star level. That much is undeniable, and his red-hot play continued on Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs to the tune of 33 points, seven assists, two steals and zero turnover on a 69.1 true shooting percentage in 32 minutes. He’s just in another world […]

The Toronto Raptors are a quietly solid team. Lost in the talks of Scottie Barnes in Rookie of the Year conversations and Pascal Siakam regaining some of his All-Star form is Fred VanVleet. The point guard has been the solid rock of the team, someone the team can rely on in a pinch to bail […]

Four games. That’s how many times Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby have taken the floor together for the Toronto Raptors this season. Whether it’s been injuries or health and safety protocols, the team’s core hasn’t had the opportunity to prove what they’re capable of on a nightly basis when all three suit up. […]

Long live the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors. As the Los Angeles Clippers roll into town on New Year’s Eve, Serge Ibaka will return for the first time since departing in the summer of 2020 from the team he won a championship with. There is an anticipation, of course, that Ibaka (who became a fan favourite during […]

The Toronto Raptors’ COVID situation was one of the worst in the league, as they were without three key players to the rotation for over a week. According to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen, the Raptors are going to be getting all three stars back on the practice court and in game action. Fred VanVleet, OG […]

The Toronto Raptors are just one of the many NBA teams dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, and now Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn are the latest to enter the league’s health and safety protocols, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. They join Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and Dalano Banton as the other Raptors in protocols. Shams […]

As the Omicron variant takes hold of the NBA, teams are having to navigate their way through the fetters of uncertainty. With the league showing no signs of stopping (for numerous reasons) as it did in March 2020, steadfast leadership within franchises is more valuable than ever, wherever that may come from. For the Toronto […]

Fred VanVleet came up with a big performance on Saturday night as the Toronto Raptors took down a Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors side. The 27-year-old was three rebounds shy of a triple-double so, naturally, VanVleet just had to take a shot at Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook right after his heroic effort. When […]

The Boston Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017, 2018, and 2020, but last season was a massive disappointment and this season is off to a sluggish 14-14 start. There has been some buzz around the NBA about the Celtics shaking things up in a big way by trading Jaylen Brown and breaking up […]

Fred VanVleet is the ultimate underdog career story in the NBA. After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors took a flier on the 6’1 point guard. After a few years, VanVleet started making a name for himself as a solid point guard. His ascent came at a head in the 2019 […]

Returning to the mark of a .500 team was within grasp, but unfortunately the Toronto Raptors couldn’t make it happen despite matching up with a seriously depleted Brooklyn Nets squad. Sure, the Raptors looked quite good on the offensive side of things for most of the night, with Scottie Barnes hitting hooks and fadeaways, Fred […]

The Toronto Raptors ate up another bitter defeat on Tuesday night after falling short against the Brooklyn Nets in overtime, 131-129. The Raptors couldn’t get the job done despite facing a squad missing almost half of its roster due to COVID-19 protocols. It looked like the Raptors would snatch the victory in regulation but Nets […]

Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet has announced that he is going to have a scholarship named the Fred VanVleet scholarship at the Roman Commerce program at the University of Toronto. VanVleet has continuously been a fan favorite in Toronto due to how he carries himself on and off the court. Things like this aren’t a […]

It may have been the best game of his young NBA career with the Toronto Raptors. No, Scottie Barnes didn’t explode for 25 points like he did earlier in the season against the Boston Celtics, but the completeness of his performance on both ends of the floor Friday night was a sight to behold. “He’s […]

The Toronto Raptors can’t seem to maintain sustained success on the court. Coming off two wins against top-seeded Eastern Conference teams, they failed to capitalize on the momentum, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 110-109. After the game, Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was vocal on the inconsistency plaguing his squad the past few weeks. Via […]

The phrase “That was a tough one” gets tossed around a lot, but it is exactly the descriptor for the Toronto Raptors’ last second, gut-wrenching loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite OKC being a 7-16 team destined for the lottery, the Raptors managed to make them appear more than competent, allowing for a massive […]

The Toronto Raptors couldn’t overcome a severely depleted roster and dropped their second game in a row after losing to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. There were some spirited runs, including a breathtaking third quarter stretch that saw Scottie Barnes morph into the 6’9” version of Stephen Curry, raining three-pointers from a variety of areas […]

The Toronto Raptors are now through about a quarter of their 2021-22 season, a significant chunk of which has been spent away from Scotiabank Arena. In fact, they’ve played 12 of their 20 total games on the road, where they’ve achieved a 7-5 record. Most of those games came within the last two weeks, with […]

The Toronto Raptors are back in Canada as they prepare to embark on a seven-game homestand. However, Nick Nurse’s squad has been struggling immensely and just lost three of five on the road, most recently falling to the Indiana Pacers on Friday. Star guard Fred VanVleet spoke on their recent play and how he wants […]

After going 2-0 to start the season series against the Indiana Pacers, the Toronto Raptors couldn’t find a way to remain undefeated. At the end of a long six-game road trip, with multiple rotation players missing from the lineup and more injuries accruing during the contest, Toronto just couldn’t muster a consistently high level of […]

In what may have been the most fun game of the Toronto Raptors’ season to date, they managed to oust the pesky Memphis Grizzlies thanks to a number of thrilling performances. Toronto is now just one game away (Friday against the Indiana Pacers) from completing its 13-day, six-game road trip, its longest journey of the […]

The Toronto Raptors are struggling a bit to start this 2021-22 season after an exhausting and disappointing 2020-21 campaign. The Raptors won only 29 games last season while playing all their home games in Tampa. That was their first missed postseason since 2012-13. This season, Toronto has started with an 8-9 record and will have to […]

The Toronto Raptors earned a much needed win Friday night, but how did they do it? Obviously, Pascal Siakam’s 32 points and Gary Trent Jr.’s 23 points were a huge offensive factor. But Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet says that the bench sealed the win against the Sacramento Kings. Raptors beat reporter Josh Lewenberg tweeted […]

Kyle Rittenhouse was dismissed of all charges on Friday after killing two people and injuring another with an AR15 last year in the Kenosha, Wisconsin protests. Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet was of course asked about the situation and he gave a brutally honest take on how it all unfolded in the courtroom. Via Sportsnet’s […]

The Toronto Raptors’ slide has hit two, and all of a sudden they are back below .500. After a red-hot 13-3 start, Toronto went back and forth with the Portland Trail Blazers (who were on the second night of a back-to-back) throughout the game, each team hitting the other with a flurry of buckets to […]