VanVleet: Raptors 'laughed' at offseason doubters
The Toronto Raptors were dealt a tough blow last offseason when franchise superstar Kawhi Leonard elected to join the Los Angeles Clippers after leading the Canadian club to its first-ever NBA title.
Leonard's exit was enough for some pundits to expect significant regression, a notion that Raptors players found amusing at the time.
"I think it was almost laughable for us. We laughed," Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet said of the team's early-season doubters, according to TSN's Josh Lewenberg.
"I mean, obviously we lost Kawhi and Danny (Green), who were a huge part of our team, but it was, like, laughable. Like, all right, we've just gotta go through the season and people will catch up eventually," VanVleet added.
The Raptors enter the upcoming season restart with the league's third-best record at 46-18. Prior to the stoppage, the club was on pace to surpass last season's 58-24 mark.
A large part of Toronto's continued success despite a lengthy list of injuries has been its depth. Along with VanVleet, budding star Pascal Siakam, forward Serge Ibaka, and swingman Norman Powell are averaging career highs in scoring. Undrafted rookie Terence Davis has emerged as a highly effective role player for head coach Nick Nurse, while Kyle Lowry's leadership and veteran savvy help his team run like clockwork on both ends.
"We've been through it (being doubted), I've been through it in my short three years here before we won," VanVleet said. "We never got the respect before the last couple months of last season. We're not used to getting pats on the back or flowers, so it's not really that different for us."