Justice is served.
NBA Players of the Week for Week 12: Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Raptors guard Fred VanVleet.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 10, 2022
VanVleet averaged 30.5 ppg, notching 33, 19, 37 and 32 points in a 4-0 week for the Raptors. This included a mind-blowing stretch of 4:22 against the Jazz which firmly placed his performance in one of those “where were you when…” categories. He also recorded a triple double in that one.
Here’s his game log for the four games last week:
Ever since their Covid protocols ended the Raptors are 7-0 and are beating opponents by an average of 13 points, albeit some opponents are undergoing their own hardships. Leading this charge has been VanVleet who is taking on the Kyle Lowry model of leadership where not only does he lead the emotional charge, but also dominates play. He’s averaging 5.85 made threes per game while shooting 46% from downtown, with each three seemingly from a longer distance than the previous one.
Not that he wasn’t already but this award puts him on the coaches radar as All-Star selection looms. Vote for him here.
@FredVanVleet triple double!! About time !! Lol congrats !!! #NBAAllStar
— Kyle Lowry (@Klow7) January 8, 2022
Asked JV about Fred VanVleet playing at an all-star level:
"Man, he took Kyle Lowry's spot now." pic.twitter.com/OA4BdOHf0V
— Vivek Jacob (@vivekmjacob) January 10, 2022
This quote from Nick Nurse seems to be applicable in pretty much every game this week:
“We got ourselves in a situation there where we needed [VanVleet] to make some big plays and obviously he made about three really huge ones in a row. Big shots, man, big shots. Great will—will to win.”
It’s hard to believe there were some who were debating whether the Raptors should pay him big money when he was due for free-agency. At an average salary of $21.2M, his contract just might become more financially sound than his first!
