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3 most exciting parts of surprising 2021-22 Raptors season

By Mike Luciano

TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 23: Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors leads the team in a huddle before playing the Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 23: Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors leads the team in a huddle before playing the Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images) /
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Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
PORTLAND, OREGON – JANUARY 11: Fred VanVleet #23 and Pascal Siakam #43 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

2. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet becoming stars

Siakam and VanVleet have not been the best postseason performers after really struggling against Philadelphia, but they helped stamp themselves as high-level stars with their two finest individual seasons to date. They will both likely be back as Toronto’s top two scorers next season.

VanVleet became the first undrafted player since Hall of Famer Ben Wallace to be named an All-Star. As impressive as his 20.3 points and 6.7 assists per game are, those numbers are slightly lower than where they could have been if not for a nagging knee injury.

Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam stood out for the Toronto Raptors.

Siakam was better this year than he was during his All-Star season. His points per game numbers were nearly identical, but he was much more efficient. With the best rebounding and assist numbers of his career under his belt, Siakam has been so lethal that Toronto could build around him for the next few years.

If Siakam is not named an All-NBA performer for his regular-season exploits, that would be an egregious mistake on the part of the voters. Even with all of the questions surrounding this team, they can take solace in the fact that they have two proven stars at their disposal.