Roles have changed for many Raptors over the last 12 months

It has been a year of great change for Fred VanVleet, a year of growth as a man, as a basketball player, as a partner.

It was a coming-out year in his NBA career, a calendar year in which he became a key component who played every significant fourth quarter for a very good Toronto Raptors team.

It was a life-changing year; the two-year $18-million (U.S.) deal he was rewarded with gives him and his family more financial security than they could have ever imagined.