“I’m definitely a Canadian”: Raptors’ VanVleet considering citizenship
Fred VanVleet is already on Canada’s team.
Might the Toronto Raptors guard want to take it to the next level?
“I’m definitely a Canadian, an honourary Canadian,” VanVleet said on the Ball Don’t Stop podcast earlier this week. “I think I’m going to work on getting my passport, try and get some citizenship or something for sure. My kids love it. My daughter is Canadian, she was born in Toronto. Toronto’s been great. It’s been great to me and my family. The country has embraced me.”
VanVleet, a Wichita State standout from Rockford, Illinois, has played the entirety of his six-year NBA career with the Raptors after the club signed him as a free agent back in 2016. He’s logged 348 games with Toronto since, averaging 13.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game.
He also helped the Raptors to an NBA Championship in 2019.
VanVleet, an all-star last season, told Daily Hive in June that he’s more than interested in being in Toronto for the rest of his career.
“I love being a Raptor,” he said. “I would love to spend my entire career here. We have a great relationship with the city, the franchise, ownership, management… it’s a match made in heaven for me. I love being a Toronto Raptor.”
VanVleet, who averaged 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in 2021-22, has two years remaining on a four-year, $85 million deal. He was close to signing a contract extension in excess of $110 million on a four-year pact over three months ago, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer.
Negotiations on a long-term pact remain open on the 29-year-old’s end.
“I’ll just say that I love being a Raptor,” VanVleet said at Raptors media day availabilities on September 26. “I have a great relationship with management, ownership, [and] coaching staff. There is nothing I could really ever complain about being on this team, but I’m definitely not going to speak on contractual things publicly. You guys will know when it’s time to know.
“I’m happy where I am and I think it’s a mutual love.”
VanVleet isn’t the only one loving Canada.
Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who took the reins of the Canada men’s national team earlier this year, also praised the North.
“I did not grow up here but I’m coming up on 10 years [living in Canada],” Iowa-born Nurse said in July. “I’ve been here a long time now, I certainly consider it home.”
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