Frederick Edmund VanVleet Sr. is a professional basketball player from United States. Fred was born on February 25, 1994, and is 29 years old as of 2023. For now Fred is playing for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association.
High School Career
At a young age, Fred VanVleet joined Auburn High School in his hometown, Rickford. He led his school team to advance to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) final four for the first time since 1975.
While playing at Auburn High School, Fred caught the attention of various sports agencies. Thereafter, he received scholarship offers from Northern Illinois, Wichita State, Colorado State, Drake, Southern Illinois, Kent State and Detroit. At last, Fred committed to play college basketball for Wichita State.
College Career
During his first season at Wichita State, Wichita State competed against Gonzaga and Ohio State in the 2013 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. The team achieved the fifth sweet sixteen appearance by a number 9 seed. The Next year, Fred’s college participated in a match against Loyola and scored 22 points and eight rebounds. This season, he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
As a senior year student, Fred suffered from a Hamstring Strain in his right ankle. This injury was critical, causing him to miss four games and ultimately limited his performance in the upcoming few matches. After recovery, Fred originally returned to the court on December 5 in a match against St. Louis.
Fred continuously had a rocking performance in the next matches. He led his team to the 2016 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. They defeated Vanderbilt and Arizona in this tournament. After this season, Fred declared for the 2016 NBA draft but went undrafted.
Professional Career
Fred agreed to play with the Toronto Raptors on July 18 after signing a multi-year deal. Thereafter, Fred scored a career-high 15 points in a match over the Orlando Magic on February 3. During the 2017-18 season, Fred averaged 8.6 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 rebounds over 76 games. On July 6, 2018, he re-signed with the team and continued his gameplay. During the 2018-19 season, Fred scored a season-high 19 points against the Milwaukee Bucks. He played against various teams including the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and Atlanta Hawks. He was absent from the ground for three weeks in February 2019 due to a partial ligament injury.
In the 2019 NBA playoffs, Fred scored 14 points in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He recorded a playoff career-high 22 points in NBA Finals and was the second on the list of the NBA Finals MVPs. In October, Fred won his first NBA championship ring. Fred signed a four-year deal with the Toronto Raptors in November 2020. After this, he played several matches with the team. In 2022, Fred suffered from a hip flexor injury in the fourth game of the first round of the NBA playoffs. After that, the Toronto Raptors lost the next six games.
Recently, he scored a career-high 20 points, five rebounds, and three steal in a game over the Charlotte Hornets on April 2, 2023. Fred received a offer of $22.8 million on June 2023 but he declined and chose to be a free agent in the 2023 offseason.
FAQs
A. Fred’s match against the Orlando Magic on February 2, 2021, is known to be his best career match as he scored 54 points in this game.
A. Rockford, Illinois, United States is Fred's birthplace.
A. Fred is an American resident and holds the nationality of the same country.
