Fred VanVleet - Defensive Dynamo (Heavy Hands) 20/21

Fred VanVleet. NBA Champion. Mr. Bet on Yourself. Fred went undrafted in 2016. Signed with Toronto Raptors Summer League team. During his rookie year, he had repeat appearances for the Raptors 905 (the Raptors’ D-League team). D-League Champion in 2017. Finished as a finalist for Sixth Man of the Year in 2018. In 2018-19, he made his mark on the league, playing hounding defense on Stephen Curry and delivered big shots time and time again. He's still on the ascent: 19.6 points per game (a career-high) on 38.9/36.6/88.5 shooting splits while averaging a career best usage...but this video is about his defense. Blocks and steals aren't everything but per Cleaning the Glass, his block and steal percentages were in the 92nd and 85th percentile respectively for combo guards. Per NBA Stats, FVV led the league in deflections per game (3.8). TLDR: he got his hands on the basketball a lot and he has such strong hands that it resulted in something good for the defense.

To borrow from my good friend Samson Folk: “Another member of the Raptors who can contest for an All-Defense selection year in and year out. Few players in the NBA can track off-ball as well as VanVleet. His screen-craft, defensive reads, stout physical disposition, and heavy (HEAVY) hands make him a particularly bothersome defender at the point of attack and on dig downs.”

Here's a little of players Fred ripped or stripped the ball from in the video:
Joel Embiid
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Paul George
De'Aaron Fox
Zion Williamson
Ben Simmons
Rudy Gobert
Devin Booker
Khris Middleton
Collin Sexton
Jrue Holiday
Anthony Edwards
Brandon Ingram
Kevin Love
Jayson Tatum
Julius Randle
Nikola Vucevic
Tobias Harris
Domantas Sabonis
Lonzo Ball
Christian Wood
Ivica Zubac

https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2021/...

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/hus...

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