TORONTO - Upon hearing the news, his Toronto Raptors teammates swarmed him pre-game in a mob of unbridled joy.
His former teammate DeMar DeRozan, made a point to find him during warm-ups to offer his own congratulations.
And even superstar rapper Drake, and his son Adonis, took the time to wish him well.
Fred VanVleet was an all-star.
He was named a reserve to the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the eighth different player in Raptors franchise history to be selected to the midseason showcase, and just the fourth undrafted player in the modern NBA era to be named an all-star.