“He must have had 14 assists at halftime” - Fred VanVleet on Chris Paul and Stephen Curry schooling him as a rookie
Fred VanVleet has carved out quite a career. Despite going undrafted in 2016, he has won an NBA title in 2019 and three years later, earned All-Star status. But despite his accomplishments, he still hasn't forgotten how rough his first experiences in the NBA were.
During his appearance on the "Out The Mud" podcast, he relayed how difficult it was dealing with the likes of Steph Curry and Chris Paul during his rookie year, as these matchups opened his eyes to the work he needed to do to hang with such elite talents.
Ill-prepared to check Steph
FVV has earned widespread respect around the NBA for betting on himself. Despite not being selected in the NBA Draft, he declined offers to play in the NBA's developmental league. Instead, he chose to join the Toronto Raptors ' training camp, eager to earn a spot amid numerous point guards.
He didn't just talk the talk, either. He walked the walk and in the preseason, he prepared himself well, not even knowing if he was going to play that night. Regardless, he always arrived at the arena at 3 p.m. for a game that tipped off at 7.
"My very first preseason game was Kevin Durant's first year with the Golden State Warriors. I got to get to the arena four hours early 'cause we got 20 guys trying to make the team. So, I'm at the arena at 3:00. The game don't start until 7," FVV recalled .
Unfortunately for FVV, he didn't get his first taste of action until the third quarter. That meant he had already been waiting for several hours. And the moment he checked in, he was immediately tasked with staying in front of one of the best players in the league.
"I don't get in till the third quarter. It's 9:00. I got to pick Stephen Curry up full court," he continued. "Soon as I check in, I'm like, 'Damn.'"
CP had him running in circles
Things certainly got worse for VanVleet long before they got better. He also remembered having to deal with the Point God, Chris Paul, in that same preseason, in an experience that was as eye-opening as it was distressing.
"So, I'm chilling. I be having like Jolly Ranchers and s—t in my socks. I was some dumb s—t. I'm chilling. I'm looking around. They start to draw the play up. Like, hold on. I'm starting? Y'all weren't gonna tell me. Boom. I'm starting. I'm like, 'Oh s—t I'm trying to get ready,'" FVV narrated.
Playing against CP with a sound mind and body never guaranteed success. But playing against him half-prepared? That was a recipe for disaster as FVV discovered.
"Chris Paul had me goddamn running. I'm looking for the screen this way. He going that way. He must have had 14 assists at halftime. He wasn't even shooting!" VanVleeet stated.
"He was just just f—king around 'cause he was like, you know, I'm chasing it like I'm trying to send him left. He going right. I go to the locker room at halftime. This motherf—cker got 14 assists. That was the first moment I was like, 'Okay, it's levels.' Like, it's a different game going on."
Only 22 and coming off a stellar career at Wichita State, FVV thought he could handle, or at least stay in front of, a player nine years his senior. However, that certainly wasn't the case as FVV came away from that matchup feeling befuddled.
"It was nothing I could do. Like, it was nothing I could do. I was dead… It hurt my confidence too 'cause I'm like, damn. So now I'm going down the other end. I ain't even got no swag. I'm like I'm dead out here. He making the game look easy," he shared.
"So CP was the first one that was like—I was turning in circles trying to figure that s—t out. He had my mind goddamn racing 1,000 miles a minute."
As defeated as VanVleet felt that night, he didn't come away empty-handed. He learned from that clash with CP and used it to his advantage, becoming an elite scorer and playmaker himself.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
