Raptors star Fred VanVleet deserved Player of the Week award

The Toronto Raptors have yet to lose a game in 2022, and one of the main reasons for that hot stretch of basketball has been the performance of guard Fred VanVleet. Not only is the Wichita State product performing at an All-Star level, but he’s been so dominant that anyone who thinks he isn’t an All-Star deserves to be mocked as loudly as possible.

VanVleet has averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game this season while making 44% of his shots and 41% of his 3-point attempts. VanVleet is taking a team many thought would be out of the playoff picture to the No. 7 seed in the East while firmly affixing them in the playoff hunt.

VanVleet has really turned on the killswitch in the last few games, as he has been guiding the Raptors to wins despite leading the league in minutes and playing without a true backup point guard.

VanVleet was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 30.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game for a Raptors team that didn’t lose a game. Grizzlies sensation Ja Morant took home the Western Conference award. The league is acknowledging what a fantastic season VanVleet has been having in 2021-22.

Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet deserved Player of the Week award.

In the last six games, VanVleet is averaging 31.2 points per game while topping 35 points twice. Fred is shooting an absurd 13.2 3-pointers per game in that stretch, but if he keeps making them at a nearly 45% clip, Nick Nurse needs to give him the greenest light imaginable.

Since the start of December, the Raptors are 11-2 in games that VanVleet has played in. Those two losses against the Thunder and Nets have come by a combined three points. One of them was the result of a last-second buzzer-beater being nullified and the latter was an overtime loss on the road.

VanVleet is playing out of his mind on offense, and the production has translated into wins. What more do the voters need to see?

https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1480384004792725506

While VanVleet has talent around him, both Gary Trent Jr. and Scottie Barnes are in some very minor offensive slumps. The lack of bench depth and quality means that VanVleet has to play close to 40 minutes every night and carry this team to victories.

VanVleet has shouldered that load and put forth the best stretch of basketball any Raptors player has had in the last two seasons. With some recognition from the league in his back pocket, VanVleet’s scintillating stretch could thrust him into an All-Star nod for the first time in his career.