Basketball

Fred VanVleet and the Raptors bet on each other to keep competitive window open


During a moment largely lost to Raptors history, Fred VanVleet was astutely navigating the same line he always has: the demarcation between selfishness and a team-first attitude.

The Raptors, in what was Year 4 of their now seven-year playoff streak, were going through one of the most prolific losing spurts of that span. In early February 2017, the Raptors had lost eight of their previous 10 games. A team that had been defined by its stability was teetering toward calamity. Coach Dwane Casey, who prized role certainty like few others, decided he needed to send a message to his team. On a Friday night in Orlando, he removed veteran Cory Joseph from the rotation and replaced him with VanVleet, an undrafted rookie who had made the team in training camp in an open battle for the 15th roster spot. That night, VanVleet played nearly 23 minutes, scoring a career-high 15 points. Joseph played fewer than seven minutes.

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