On the last play of the third quarter of a game the Toronto Raptors were largely in control of, Pascal Siakam made a turnover near the Orlando Magic’s basket.
Fred VanVleet, behind the ball, put his head down and started sprinting, trying to track down his former Raptors teammate, and now Magic veteran, Terrence Ross.
VanVleet tried to pick Ross’ pocket on one side and then veered to try and get him on the other. Finally, about 80 feet after the race started, VanVleet got his hands on the ball and blocked what would otherwise have been an easy fast break lay-up.
VanVleet wasn’t having it.
But the sprint cost him. It seemed like he’d used the last of his afterburners and he looked spent as the horn sounded to end the quarter. Turns out, he said later, that he took an inadvertent shot in the privates. It was about the only thing that didn’t go his way on a magical night, but regardless, he had to pause, catch his breath, and try to recover.
The fifth-year Raptors guard did all kinds of amazing things during Toronto’s 123-108 win over the Magic. He set records. He led his team to a victory they might otherwise not have gotten. He put on a shooting display that may never be equalled in franchise history.
But as the play at the end of the third quarter showed in vivid detail, VanVleet did it while staying true to the spirit of the player and person that has earned his way into Raptors lore as the undrafted point guard that proved people wrong every day. VanVleet was on his way to a history-making offensive night and the game was virtually in hand. But VanVleet can only play one way.
“He’s a winner. Simple as that,” said Kyle Lowry, his friend and mentor since VanVleet was signed out of summer league in 2016 as an undrafted free agent, who touts him as a potential all-star and all-NBA defender every chance he gets. “He wants to win, and he wants to help his team win at the highest of levels. That’s how he’s been special. He’s been a guy that just plays hard and do whatever it takes to win basketball games.”
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse took note: “It’s his makeup, it’s his character, that’s the way he plays. ... Give him credit, it’s awesome.”
But VanVleet did do lots of other awesome things, by any standard. When he made his steal, he already had a career-high 46 points. But he wasn’t done.
With 4:44 to play, he sprinted out to the wing to pick off a Cole Anthony pass and go the other way for a lay-up, tying DeMar DeRozan’s team-record 52 points. A minute later Lowry found VanVleet cutting back door for another lay-up to set a record -- 54 points -- that no one saw coming.
VanVleet not only passed DeRozan – the Raptors all-time scoring leader — he also now holds the mark for highest single-game total for an undrafted player, surpassing the 53-point career high belonging to Hall-of-Famer Moses Malone, who was only undrafted because he joined the old ABA straight from high school and became an NBA player when the leagues merged in 1976.
VanVleet was aided by Kyle Lowry’s triple double (14 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds), but he got to the record on his own terms, playing an all-round, two-way game that has become his signature. He scored 54 points in the flow of the offence, stepping into deep threes like they were free throws, barely hitting the rim.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, he joined Kyrie Irving as the only players in NBA history to score 54 or more points on 23 shots or less. He added three blocks and three steals. He took 14 threes and made 11 and was a perfect 9-of-9 at the free-throw line, while making only one turnover.
“It was easy -- no disrespect to the Magic -- but I mean, for most of those [threes], I was open,” said VanVleet. "They were in rhythm. They were clean looks. They were within the offence. That's why I was able to remain patient and still pass out of double teams and not take bad shots because of the way I got all my points.
“…I even told the guys, 'You guys keep playing.' I could feel them start to look for me to the point where they weren't looking at the rim any more. I wanted to win more than I wanted 50 points. Just trying to continue to play with a pure heart and let the game come to me, and I was rewarded for that.”
No one was happier than Lowry, who readily sheds his old curmudgeon act when he gets a chance to celebrate his younger teammates, no one more than VanVleet, who Lowry took under his wing as a rookie and who the 34-year-old, 15-year veteran looks upon like family.
“Y’all know how I feel about him,” said Lowry, who didn’t want to talk about his 15th Raptors triple double, extending his own franchise record. “That’s my little brother, man, and I’m proud of him. … Tonight is really special, because it came from a kid who was undrafted, worked his way to an NBA player, and an NBA starter, and possibly this year an All-Star and possibly an All-Defensive Player. That’s what makes it really special.”
There can’t be a basketball fan on the planet who wasn’t happy to see it. Failing to appreciate VanVleet is a failure to appreciate the good that sports can be. By NBA standards he lacks height (he’s barely six-feet) and explosiveness (he’s never dunked in an NBA game), or even the long arms or big hands that allow some smaller player to play bigger than their measurements. Because of his perceived shortcomings, he has been doubted at every stop of his career.
But VanVleet never paid any attention, and when he was rewarded with an $85-million contract over four years this past off-season -- the largest ever given to an undrafted player -- he deserved it. And as he is on his way to another career season, it’s now looking like the Raptors should have paid him more.
The much-needed win improved the Raptors' record to 9-12 as they start a stretch of six straight on the road and nine of their 10 away from their temporary Tampa home while just one game out of a playoff spot.
It was a game the Raptors shouldn’t have needed VanVleet’s heroics to win, but the way it unfolded may have been hard-pressed to do without.
The Magic are in a tough way. With Aaron Gordon spraining his ankle the Magic were without three starters and at least two more key rotation players, a big reason why they had lost 11 of their past 13 games. Those that are healthy have been piling up the minutes and if the Magic were looking ahead it was to a couple of days off coming up
The Raptors were hoping to hit first, push the pace and get the Magic to roll over early, but it never happened. Toronto needed five first quarter threes from VanVleet to come back from falling behind by 11 early and even his 28 first-half points only provided the Raptors a 64-60 lead at half.
Orlando went up three with 7-0 run to start the second half before VanVleet pumped in 18 third-quarter points to put the Raptors up for good heading into the fourth, the only drama remaining being whether he would break the record or not.
When he set the mark and left the floor, he was mobbed by his teammates and swarmed again in the locker room. DeRozan hit him up on FaceTime to offer his congratulations. Social media buzzed and well wishes poured in.
VanVleet doesn’t inspire jealousy, his easy-going demeanour and all-out play builds bonds, creates allies and brings together teams. The 26-year-old from Rockford, Ill., has done it his whole life.
“I just try to play the game the right way,” he said. “And for most of these guys, they've been here. … They saw me from day one, and they saw where I was when I walked in the building. And the work that I've put in each and every day, and the way that I play the game … when you play with a pure heart and a clear conscience and a clear soul, some good things happen for you, and your teammates and your brothers will be happy for you.
"That's just a family thing. You've got to be able to be happy for other people before other people can be happy for you. And that's all it is.”
It's everything, though.
The world could use more Fred VanVleet and on a Tuesday night in Orlando, he gave all he had and was rewarded with a win, and a spot in history.
