VanVleet garnering Olympic attention
U.S. team invitation is just another step in point guard’s stunning rise
Fred VanVleet’s story truly is impressive and should be inspirational.
An undrafted, undersized, not really athletically gifted young man goes from prospect to NBA star by sheer hard work and determination and belief in himself.
It’s a familiar tale to Raptors fans and around the league. VanVleet has put himself among the elite point guards in the game.
The rest of the world may learn more about him later this year.
VanVleet will be named to the 60-player pool from which the United States team for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics will be chosen, according to sources granted anonymity because the entire list has not yet been made public.
It is a long way from there to being one of the 12 American athletes who will go to Tokyo — if the Olympics are even held in this pandemic age — but to even be considered is another step in a stunning rise for the native of Rockford, Ill.
It will be the first time the 26-year-old VanVleet has been included in a USA senior team player pool, and he will join Raptors teammate Kyle Lowry among the candidates.
It’s a deep list, and needs to be. While there are still legitimate questions about the Olympics even being held starting in late July, if they do go off as planned they will open on the heels of the NBA Finals. That is sure to take a handful of star players out of the equation for the Americans, who have won the gold medal at the last three Olympics after a disappointing bronze-medal finish in 2004 in Athens. The U.S., however, was a disappointing seventh at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
VanVleet has worked his way up with a unique combination of skill and confidence that earned him a four-year, $85million (U.S.) contract from the Raptors last fall. His ability to read the game, play to his strengths and augment the talents
of his teammates makes him a valuable member of any team.
“That’s my ultimate goal as a point guard, and as a leader, is just help guys reach their goals, while still maintaining my own personal ambition,” he said last month. ”I think it’s just being accountable, being vocal, being honest, being blunt … what type of energy you’re on, they gravitate toward that.”
On an American Olympic team laden with stars, VanVleet’s
makeup would seem to be a perfect fit, as it has been with the Raptors since he signed as an undrafted Summer League project in 2014.
“Every team he’s been on has been successful, and I think that’s an infectious leadership type of thing,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of VanVleet earlier this season. “When you’re looking at people’s pedigree or resumé … you scratch your head. That guy’s always on a winning team, whether it was high school or college or pro or whatever. And it’s really evident with him.”
According to a weekend report by The Associated Press, the rest of the preliminary list will be released in the coming weeks. The U.S. has already qualified for the Tokyo Games, and the draw for the Olympic tournament will be held in the first week of February.
Canada has yet to qualify and will need to win a six-team qualification tournament, now scheduled for Victoria in late June/early July, to secure the country’s first men’s basketball Olympic berth since 2000.