In his farewell letter to the Raptors and Toronto, after his transfer to Indiana, Pascal Siakam naively confessed that he had “ always had the impression » to be part of “ these players who spend their entire career with one team.” What about his old teammate, Fred VanVleet ?
After all, the playmaker, NBA champion in 2019 in Canada, had known nothing other than Toronto before signing in Houston last summer.
“Selfishly and naively, as I have an ego, I wanted to play for one team, for one city, to have my jersey retired, to be the fans' favorite player forever and to be remembered me for a long time. But it didn't work like that. This is less and less the case in the NBA now,” he declares.
The Raptors have changed their skin
Fred VanVleet therefore imagined a departure, one day or another. “I thought about it a lot last season”confirms the Rockets player, who does not say that he absolutely wanted to leave in 2023.
“I think that when we don’t sign an extension, we know that we are going to test free agency,” he adds. “My intentions weren't to leave at first, but I wanted to test the market. I knew what the future was going to look like in Toronto, so I wanted to see what things were like elsewhere. »
This Friday evening, the Canadians are traveling to Houston. This is the first meeting between the former Toronto player and the Raptors, who have changed their face in recent weeks after several transfers.
“It’ll be a little weird, that’s for sure. There's Barnes, Chris Boucher, Thaddeus Young, Gary Trent Jr, but otherwise there's not a lot of people who were there when I was there,” specifies Fred VanVleet. “There has been quite a reconstruction. It's always nice to see people from the staff again, to see people I've built relationships with over the years, but it's not a classic reunion because there's change. »
A tribute and tears?
The big moment of emotion will especially be next Friday, February 9. The Rockets will then be in Canada, in the Scotiabank Arena.
“It will be different to come back in this room, with the story that we wrote, with the fans, with the video, whatever the franchise does. It was my home for seven years. It's a second home for me. I feel that every time I go there. As soon as I land, there is nostalgia. »
And maybe tears too, before the match? “I was talking to Kyle Lowry about it: he told me I was going to cry. I don't cry a lot. We'll see if, with the video, with the quality of their work, they can bring tears out of me.” he announces to conclude.
| Fred VanVleet | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | TOR | 37 | 8 | 35.1 | 37.9 | 81.8 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| 2017-18 | TOR | 76 | 20 | 42.6 | 41.4 | 83.2 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 8.6 |
| 2018-19 | TOR | 64 | 28 | 41.0 | 37.8 | 84.3 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 11.0 |
| 2019-20 | TOR | 54 | 36 | 41.3 | 39.0 | 84.8 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 6.6 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| 2020-21 | TOR | 52 | 37 | 38.9 | 36.6 | 88.5 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 19.6 |
| 2021-22 | TOR | 65 | 38 | 40.3 | 37.7 | 87.4 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 6.7 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 20.3 |
| 2022-23 | TOR | 69 | 37 | 39.3 | 34.2 | 89.8 | 0.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 7.2 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 19.4 |
| 2023-24 | HOU | 45 | 37 | 40.8 | 37.3 | 85.8 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 8.4 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 16.8 |
| Total | 461 | 30 | 40.2 | 37.3 | 86.8 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 5.6 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 14.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
