Having taken full control of the leadership mantle with the Raptors, Fred VanVleet’s sphere of influence now stretches NBA-wide.
The point guard who went undrafted and worked his way on to the Toronto roster in 2016 was named an Eastern Conference all-star reserve on Thursday night.
The 27-year-old is enjoying the best year of his career and conference coaches rewarded him with a trip to the showcase event, Feb. 20 in Cleveland.
Pascal Siakam, VanVleet’s teammate, was not elected by the coaches, who chose Miami’s Jimmy Butler, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Brooklyn’s James Harden.