After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, VanVleet signed with theToronto Raptors. He spent time with the Raptors and with their G League affiliate,Raptors 905, during the 2016–17 season; VanVleet was a member of Raptors 905's 2017 championship team. He went on to become a key player (setting the NBA Finals record with 16 made three point shots off the bench) for the Raptors and won an NBA championship with the team in2019. VanVleet holds the Raptors records for single-game assists (20) and single-game points (54), making him the only player to have sole possession of both records for an NBA franchise. VanVleet's 54 points is also an NBA single-game record for undrafted players. He was named to his firstNBA All-Star Game in 2022. VanVleet specializes in deflecting/stripping the ball in the motion of shooting before it is above the shoulders and holds the NBA single-season record forblocked shots by a player listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or less.
VanVleet was born in Rockford, Illinois, on February 25, 1994, to Susan VanVleet and Fred Manning. Manning was murdered in 1999 when VanVleet was five years old.[1] His mother later remarried Joe Danforth, an Army veteran and member of the Rockford Police Department, who served as VanVleet's personal trainer.[2]
VanVleet remained loyal to his local RockfordAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) club team rather than accept offers to more high-profile teams in Chicago. VanVleet did not feel it would make a difference in his recruiting: "As long as you're leading whoever you're playing with, the coaches are going to see that. If they see you competing and winning with guys maybe I shouldn't be winning with, that's maybe even an advantage for me."[9] VanVleet received basketball scholarship offers fromColorado State,[10]Northern Illinois,Wichita State,Southern Illinois,Drake,Detroit andKent State.[11] His stepfather felt that VanVleet was being overlooked by manyChicago metropolitan area schools because of his decision not to join a Chicago AAU team.[12] VanVleet cut his list down to Kent State, Northern Illinois and Wichita State.[9] When VanVleet accepted an offer to play forWichita State, he became the only member of the national class of 2012Rivals.com top 150 to attend aMissouri Valley Conference school.[13]
As a freshman, VanVleet contributed double-digit scoring twice (againstGonzaga andOhio State) in the2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament from off the bench as the2012–13 Shockers team reached the final four.[14] Against Gonzaga, his 13points[15] included a basket with 1:28 remaining that helped the Shockers secure only the fifth Sweet 16 appearance by a #9 seed since the tournament went to 64 teams in 1985.[16][17] VanVleet's 12 points against Ohio State included a late basket that helped the Shockers become the fifth team with a seeding higher than eight to make it to the final four since 1979 when seeding began.[18] VanVleet was mentored by seniorMalcolm Armstead.[19]
On November 14, VanVleet had sevensteals in the opener againstNew Mexico State,[55] tying a school record.[56] On December 3, against #25Utah, VanVleet helped Wichita State recover from a nine-point deficit in the final 2:45 of regulation with eight points (including twothree-point shots in the final 1:15) and an assist on a three-point shot, but with seven seconds remaining inovertime and Wichita trailing by one, he missed the front end of a one and one.[57][58] In his return visit to Chicago and theGentile Center to playLoyola on January 11, VanVleet was perfect from the field again with a 5-for-5 performance and added a career-high-tying 10 assists (as well as 6 rebounds and 3 steals) for his first careerdouble-double.[59] However, VanVleet snapped his perfect streak of 20 free throws made in his home state with a 3-for-4 performance.[60] In the rematch against Loyola on January 28, VanVleet posted a career-high 27 points.[61] On February 7, he posted the firsttriple-double forWichita State Shockers men's basketball in 43 years with a 10-point, 10-rebound and 11-assist performance (to go along with four steals) againstMissouri State.[62] On February 16, VanVleet was MVC Co-player of the Week (withSeth Tuttle).[63] On February 26, he broke the all-time Wichita State career assist record againstEvansville with 431 assists, surpassingWarren Jabali who had 429 andToure' Murry who had 430.[64] VanVleet was one of 17 finalists for the Cousy Award.[65] The Shockers defeatedNorthern Iowa on February 28 to win the MVC regular-season title.[66] In the opening game of the2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for the Shockers, VanVleet matched a career high with 27 points againstIndiana.[67] He finished the tournament with 17-point and 25-point performances against #2-seededKansas and #3-seededNotre Dame, respectively.[68][69] For the season, VanVleet repeated as the MVC in assists per game (5.23) leader.[40]
VanVleet was named an All-MVC first-team selection following the regular season.[70] He was also recognized by theAssociated Press as an honorable mention selection for its All-America team.[71]
VanVleet had been dealing with hamstring issues when he rolled his right ankle. As a result, he saw no more than three minutes of playing time in the season opener againstCharleston Southern on November 13.[86] Although VanVleet played in the next game againstTulsa, it aggravated his hamstring enough that he was expected to miss the following few games.[87] Without a healthy VanVleet, Wichita State fell to two games under .500 for the first time since its2008–09 team as well as endured, not only its first three-game losing streak since having VanVleet come off the bench for the2012–13 team, but also its worst start to a season (2–4) since the2007–08 team.[88][89] He returned to the lineup on December 5 againstSt. Louis to bring the consecutive losses to an end.[90] For having averages of 13.5 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in two significant wins, one overUNLV on December 9 and another over #25Utah on December 12, VanVleet claimed Missouri Valley Player of the Week honors on December 14.[91] He earned Player of the Week honors again on January 11 after leading the Shockers to victories over conference co-leadersEvansville andSouthern Illinois on January 6 and 9, respectively, with his 11.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals averages. VanVleet's 12 rebounds against Southern Illinois was a career high.[92] He was named to the January 25, 20-man Oscar Robertson Trophy midseason watch list.[93] On January 31, VanVleet made all 15 of his free throw attempts on his way to a career-high 32 points againstEvansville.[94] The following day, VanVleet earned his third MVC Player of the Week honor.[95] On February 3, in the 1500th victory inWichita State Shockers men's basketball history and inhead coachGregg Marshall's school-record-setting 221st victory, VanVleet notched a double-double with 12 points and a career-high-tying 11 assists against Southern Illinois.[96][97] He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for theNaismith Trophy on February 11.[98] VanVleet was included in the Wooden Award Late season Top 20 Watch List on February 12.[99] In the2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, VanVleet led the team to victories overVanderbilt andArizona. Against Vanderbilt in the First Four round, he and fellow seniorRon Baker led an 11–0 run to break a 30–30 tie on March 15. The pair scored all 11 points in the run and tied with a game-high 14 points.[100] On March 17, VanVleet and Baker led 11-seed Wichita State to a victory over #6 seed andAP poll 17th-ranked Arizona.[101] VanVleet posted a game-high 16 points, five steals and four rebounds.[102] With four steals in his final career game on March 19 againstMiami, VanVleet brought his career total to 225, setting a school career record.[103] For the season, he repeated as the MVC in assists per game (5.55) leader for a third time and led the conference in free throw percentage (81.7%).[40]
Following the regular season, VanVleet was named to the Missouri Valley Conference all-league first team (for the third consecutive season)[104] and the MVC Larry Bird Trophy Player of the Year for the second time in three years.[105] He was also an AP All-America honorable mention.[106]
VanVleet was not selected in the2016 NBA draft after declining two offers to agree to play in theNBA Development League at annual salaries of $20,000 for two years by teams interested in drafting him in the second round.[107] VanVleet signed to play in the2016 NBA Summer League with theToronto Raptors with the expectation that he would be in the Raptors' training camp.[108] His summer league contract had a guarantee of three game appearances.[109] On July 18, VanVleet signed a multi-year deal with the Raptors.[110] At the time of his signing, the Raptors had 14 players entering training camp on guaranteed contracts, including point guardsKyle Lowry,Cory Joseph andDelon Wright.[111] VanVleet was competing withBrady Heslip,Drew Crawford,Yanick Moreira,E. J. Singler andJarrod Uthoff for the final spot.[112] On October 22, VanVleet remained on the roster when the team cut down to 15 players.[113][114]
VanVleet made his official league debut on November 9, 2016, playing in only 26 seconds in a 112–102 victory over theOklahoma City Thunder.[115] VanVleet posted his first two points in the Raptors' 19th game and his fourth appearance, which came against theLos Angeles Lakers on December 2.[116] With Lowry sidelined for a night, VanVleet played with the second unit and posted career highs with 25 minutes and 10 points on January 17 against theBrooklyn Nets.[117] On February 3, he established a new career high with 15 points in a 102–94 loss to theOrlando Magic.[118] During his rookie season, VanVleet had multiple assignments withRaptors 905 of the NBA Development League.[119] He was a member of Raptors 905's championship-winning team in April 2017.[120]
On November 25, 2017, VanVleet posted a career-high 16 points against theIndiana Pacers.[121] Four days later, he had a career-high nine assists in a 126–113 victory over theCharlotte Hornets.[122] VanVleet posted new career highs in points two times during January 2018: first on January against theCleveland Cavaliers with 22, then on January 28 against theLos Angeles Lakers with 25.[123][124] On March 7, VanVleet made a long jump shot from the left corner with 1.1 seconds left to break a tie and clinch a 121–119 overtime victory for the Raptors over the Pistons, as well as help Toronto to become the first team to clinch a berth in the2018 NBA playoffs.[125] VanVleet finished the 2017–18 season averaging 8.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 76 games; he ranked fourth in the NBA in net efficiency per possession behindStephen Curry,Eric Gordon andChris Paul and was the only full-time bench player in the top 20 (19th) in the league forplus–minus.[126] VanVleet was subsequently nominated for theSixth Man of the Year Award.[127]
VanVleet re-signed with the Raptors on July 6, 2018.[128] He scored a season-high 19 points on December 9, 2018, in a 104–99 loss to theMilwaukee Bucks.[129] Two days later, VanVleet had a career-high 14 assists in a 123–99 victory over theLos Angeles Clippers.[130] On December 19, he made a go-ahead three-point shot, with 25 seconds remaining, to cap a 17-point comeback against theIndiana Pacers.[131] On January 5, VanVleet had a season-high-tying 21 points in a 123–116 victory over the Bucks.[132] On February 7, he set a new career high with 30 points in a 119–101 victory over theAtlanta Hawks.[133] VanVleet was ruled out for approximately three weeks in early February with a partial ligament injury to his left thumb, an injury that occurred two nights earlier against theNew York Knicks.[134]
The Raptors entered the2019 NBA playoffs as the number two seed, where VanVleet was an important bench player for the team. After an early post-season shooting slump,[135]during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Bucks, VanVleet scored 21 points on seven three-pointers in a 105–99 victory, helping the Raptors take a 3–2 series lead.[136] In Game 6, he scored 14 points in a 100–94 series-clinching victory over the Bucks, helping the Raptors advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.[137] The turnaround happened on May 20 when his son, Fred, Jr. was born on the day between game 3 and game 4. During the 9 playoff games prior to his son's birth he had shot 6–42, including 3–24 on three point shots. In the final 9 playoff games that year he shot 30– 57 (53%) on his three point shots.[138] In the final three games of the Eastern conference finals he shot 14–17 on three-point shots.[139]
VanVleet played an important defensive role againstStephen Curry during the NBA Finals that saw him utilized in abox-and-one defense.[140] In Game 6 of the NBA Finals, VanVleet scored a playoff career-high 22 points with five three-pointers off the bench in a 114–110 series-clinching victory, thus helping the Raptors win their firstNBA championship in franchise history.[141][142] During the finals, he set an NBA Finals record for with 16 three pointers made off the bench, surpassing the previous record of 15 byRobert Horry (2005).[143] He came second place inNBA Finals MVP voting toKawhi Leonard.[144]
In the season-opener on October 22 against theNew Orleans Pelicans, VanVleet scored a career-high 34 points after receiving his first NBA championship ring.[145] On January 4, 2020, VanVleet posted 29 points, including 22 in the second half, and a season-high 11 assists, keying a 16-point comeback victory over theBrooklyn Nets.[146][147] In the Raptors’ second game returning from thesuspension of the season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic on August 3, VanVleet scored a career-high 36 points, hitting seven three-pointers, in a 107–103 victory over theMiami Heat in theOrlando bubble.[148] On August 17, he set a trio of playoff career highs in points (30), three-pointers made (8) and assists (11) in a 134–110 victory over theBrooklyn Nets in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter finals in the 2020 NBA Playoff Bubble.[149] In the first three games of the series he compiled 17 made threes.[139] VanVleet became the first Raptors player to record 30 points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game,[150] while also joiningDamian Lillard,Stephen Curry andChris Paul as the only NBA players to record 30-plus points, 10-plus assists and 8-plus three-pointers in a playoff game.[151]
In November 2020, it was announced that VanVleet would remain with the Raptors with a four-year, US$85-million deal.[152] The $85 million contract was the largest ever for an undrafted free agent untilDuncan Robinson signed a five-year $90 million deal the following year.[153] On January 4, 2021, VanVleet scored a season-high 35 points, hitting six three-pointers in a 126–114 loss to theBoston Celtics.[154] Two days later, he set a new franchise record with a made three-pointer in 39 straight regular-season games, beating the previous record that was set byC. J. Miles with 38.[155] On February 2, VanVleet scored a career-high 54 points, hitting a career-high 11 three-pointers in a 123–108 victory against theOrlando Magic. He set a franchise record for the most points scored in a game, surpassingDeMar DeRozan's previous record, while also making history for the most points scored by an undrafted NBA player, previously held byMoses Malone with 53. VanVleet also set a franchise record for most three-pointers in the first half, with eight.[156][157] On April 2, he extended his consecutive regular-season games streak with a made 3-point shot to 76 and left the game against theGolden State Warriors due to a hip flexor injury.[158] On April 8, VanVleet was suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an altercation between the Raptors and theLos Angeles Lakers.[159] When he returned from his six-game injury and one-game suspension, he was held to six points (0-for-6 on three-point shots) by theOrlando Magic ending the streak.[160][161] The streak included games 23 to 54 (32 games) of the2019–20 regular season and appearances 1 to 44 (44 games) of the2020–21 regular season. This excludes the 11 games of the2020 NBA playoffs in which VanVleet also converted three-point shots.[162][163]
On November 18, 2021, against theUtah Jazz, VanVleet extended his streak of consecutive games with at least three three-point shots made to eight by making three-point shots on three consecutive possessions.[164][165] The streak ended the following night against theSacramento Kings when he only made two.[166] On December 31, 2021, January 2 and January 4, 2022, VanVleet scored 31, 35 and 33 points against theLos Angeles Clippers,New York Knicks andSan Antonio Spurs, respectively.[167][168][169] This made VanVleet the fourth undrafted player (along withMoses Malone,Mike James andConnie Hawkins) to score 30 or more points in three consecutive games.[170] On January 7, he recorded his first careertriple-double with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, including 24 points in the third quarter alone, leading Toronto to a 122–108 comeback victory over theUtah Jazz. During the third quarter performance, VanVleet singlehandedly erased a 14-point deficit by scoring 15 unanswered points in a two-minute-27-second span.[171] For Week 12 (January 3–9) of the2021–22 NBA season, VanVleet was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first time on January 10 for leading the Raptors to a 4–0 record with a 30.3 points, 6.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 36.5 minutes per game averages.[172] On February 3, VanVleet was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career, becoming just the fourth undrafted (modern era) player to make an all-star team, joiningJohn Starks (1994),Ben Wallace (2003–06) andBrad Miller (2003–04),[173] (fifth or sixth if you countConnie Hawkins and/orMoses Malone who were draft eligible when competing leagues existed but were never drafted in theNBA draft).[174][175] On April 3, 2022, VanVleet brokeKyle Lowry's Raptors record for most 3-pointers in a season (238) vs. theMiami Heat while playing against Lowry as he was on the court.[176] VanVleet finished the season with 242 in 65 games played.[177] He (37.88) finished just behind teammatePascal Siakam (37.91) for the leadership in minutes played per game over the course of the season.[178] VanVleet suffered ahip flexor injury during Game 4 of the first round of the2022 NBA playoffs against thePhiladelphia 76ers and the Raptors were eliminated in 6 games.[179]
On April 2, 2023, VanVleet recorded a career-high and Raptors-record 20 assists, along with 20 points, five rebounds and three steals in a 128–108 victory over theCharlotte Hornets. He is now the owner of the franchise's single-game record for assists and points. VanVleet also became the only player that is the sole owner of both records for a single franchise. He and Hall of FamerBob Davies are the only undrafted players in NBA history to register a game with 20-plus points and 20-plus assists.[180][181]
In June 2023, VanVleet declined his $22.8 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason.[182]
On July 7, 2023, VanVleet signed with theHouston Rockets. The contract was a three-year deal worth $130 million dollars.[183] On October 26, he debuted for the Rockets, scoring 14 points along with five assists in a 116–86 loss to theOrlando Magic.[184] On December 18, VanVleet tallied 17 assists alongside 27 points and 8 rebounds against in a 135–130 overtime loss toCleveland.[185] On January 26, 2024, VanVleet marked his third consecutive game with at least 3 blocks with a 6-block effort againstCharlotte.[186] Despite being listed as either 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) at various times in his career, he has a knack for statistical "blocks", because he specializes in deflecting the ball as a player is in the motion of shooting before the ball is above the shoulders. Statistically, he is the best in the recorded shot block era at this for his height. On February 23, 2021, he recorded 4 blocks, with two of them being onJoel Embiid who is a foot taller than him. VanVleet would prefer if this type of deflection was recorded as a steal.[187] At over half way into the2023-24 Houston Rockets season, VanVleet was the team leader in blocked shots.[188] In February 2024, he set the NBA record for most single-season blocked shots by a player listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or less.[189] He scored a season-high with 42 points in a game loss against the Utah Jazz. In that game, he made nine three-pointers, added seven rebounds and assists.[190]
On April 28, 2025, VanVleet made 8 three point shots in game 4 of the opening round of the2025 NBA playoffs againstGolden State,[191] tieing a franchise playoff record shared byChris Paul (v. Utah, May 2018), (Matt Maloney) (at Seattle, May 1997) andJalen Green (five days earlier in game 2 of the same series).[192] VanVleet missed his 12th attempt at the buzzer in the 3 point loss.[191] VanVleet made 18 three point shots in a three game stretch by going 18–27 during games 4 through 6. The best previous three game playoff stretch by a Rocket had seen 16 made by Harden.[139]
On June 25, 2025, VanVleet re-signed with the Rockets on a two-year, $50 million contract.[193] On July 12, VanVleet was elected President of theNational Basketball Players Association.[194] On September 22, it was reported that VanVleet had suffered atorn right ACL during an offseason workout, and would likely be ruled out for the entire2025–26 season.[195]
VanVleet was among the 22 players selected to try out for the 12-man Team USA at the2015 Pan American Games.[197] He was among the 16 finalists for the team,[198] but he did not make the final roster.[199]
VanVleet is the son of Fred Manning, who was killed in 1999. Manning had played basketball atGuilford High School in Rockford. VanVleet's mother is named Susan,[200] and his stepfather is Joe Danforth.[14] VanVleet isbiracial; his father was black and his mother is white.[201] He has a daughter who was born on January 29, 2018.[202] On May 20, 2019, his son was born during the Raptors Eastern Conference Finals series against the Milwaukee Bucks.[203] VanVleet also has a brother named Darnell.[19] He also has a step brother J.D.[2] Darnell played basketball atIllinois Central College and J.D. played at Ashford University of Iowa.[2]
In conjunction withAcast, VanVleet launched the "Bet On Yourself" podcast, premiering on November 3, 2021. Season 1 of the podcast was advertised to "feature conversations about perseverance, struggles, and success with up-and-coming Black Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs in Canada,"[205]
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