From Being Undrafted to Signing a $130,000,000 Bag: Former NBA Champion Discloses How He Overcame Adversity

‘A moment of redemption will be an understatement’ to describe the feelings of an undrafted NBA player who was instrumental in his team’s championship win. The journey becomes all the more enthralling to see the same undrafted player bagging a $130 million contract. Well, if it’s not obvious by now, it’s the 2019 NBA champion Fred VanVleet going through this redemptive journey in the league.

His journey doesn’t come as a surprise, since Van Vleet is habitual to overcoming many adversities. He’s excelling his way up, since a very young age.

On the first day of free agency, Fred VanVleet signed a three-year $130 million deal with the Houston Rockets. The former Raptors’ star is in the spotlight ever since. Recently, the 29-year-old explains how he stood unfazed in the midst of adversities.

Fred VanVleet recalls how he grew up as a competitor

Fred VanVleet is the talk of the town ever since he signed the $130 million contract. Recently, he sat down for an interview with The Pivot Podcast, talking about his journey, and how he overcomes adversities.

A few minutes into the episode, the hosts recall how loyal a player VanVleet has been since a young age. They also point out his competitive spirit, when usually youngsters are looking for the easy way out, joining championship-winning teams. VanVleet remained loyal to AAU in Rockford, declining big offers coming in from Chicago.

He just simply puts his honest opinion, he remained with his team to “compete.”

VanVleet says, “Those two things, having a small-town mentality and just being a competitor. And then as I got older, I mean we would go to the tournaments and play against those teams. If we weren’t winning, we were losing, you know, about less than five. And AAU, as long as you can make it to the Sunday where the championships are played in the right bracket”.

He also adds, “I would rather be playing with my guys competing against the teams that got all the money.”

A young Fred VanVleet later carried forward his urge to “compete” to his college basketball stint with Wichita State University. When he joined the Raptors in the NBA, the VanVleet always made sure that he was a competitor.

VanVleet’s awe-inspiring NBA story

Back in 2016, when Fred VanVleet declared for the NBA draft, he wouldn’t have thought he was entering a period of uncertainties. None of the teams drafted VanVleet after he declined an offer to play in the G League two times.

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Later, he signed with the Toronto Raptors to play in the Summer League. Though he signed a multi-year deal with the Raptors, he had to compete with other new recruits to land a final spot. From there he teamed up with the-then superstars, Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam to win Toronto’s first-ever title in 2019.

Anyhow, Fred VanVleet won’t have any time to rest in Houston. As has always been the case, life will indeed be challenging for the 2019 NBA champion, as the Rockets have been at the bottom of the table for the last two seasons. Let’s hope he channelizes the competitor in him to give the Rockets some relief.

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