Toronto Raptors players reimagined as characters from Harry Potter

Fred VanVleet used his own diligent practice and scoring to spark the Raptors in the final battle against the Warriors not unlike Neville Longbottom and his slaying of Nagini, the last Horcrux.

Fred VanVleet was pushed aside before the Finals. With poor shooting performances under his belt, he seemed to be an afterthought to the offensive strategy of the Raptors. However, when the lights shone the brightest, he summoned his inner Neville and performed graciously on the final stage even earning one Finals MVP vote.

Neville was a clumsy wizard growing up with a tough childhood. There were moments in which he was almost the “Chosen One,” but those moments faded quickly. His skills were unnatural to him, unlike Harry. As well, he was a mess when it came to having the big stage set before him.

We all believed VanVleet was done for after the Philadelphia series. It just didn’t seem like that he had the same wherewithal as other players to perform. While we doubted him, VanVleet took it upon himself to show up in a meaningful way for the Finals. And, when the team seemingly needed a bucket, it seemed that VanVleet was always the one taking the handle and making something out of nothing.

Although Harry and his friends destroyed many of the Horcruxes, and sacrificed a lot along the way, they couldn’t have beat Voldemort without the timely Neville taking a swing at Nagini’s neck with the sword of Gryffindor. The parallels between that moment and VanVleet raining a barrage of threes in the Finals is uncanny and impossible to ignore.

Furthermore, upon the defeat of Voldemort and the Warriors alike, Neville had a newfound confidence in his game much like VanVleet when he realized he would be tasked with more shooting with the departure of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in the offseason. That newfound confidence led Neville to a grand life sans Voldemort–will the story be the same for VanVleet?

Of course, while VanVleet made impossible heroics to complete the defeat of the Warriors, there’s another player who kept the team in the running even after mistakes were made. Now, he’s gone and has a complex and convoluted history with the team. One that has left Raptors fans confused and unsure of how to feel about him.