Fred VanVleet, the basketball player, capitalized on the platform last June’s run to the NBA championship handed him.
He fought through a chipped tooth and an ugly cut under his right eye to provide timely scoring off the bench, and saved his best numbers for the biggest game of the post-season. When the Raptors clinched the title with a Game 6 win over the Golden State Warriors, VanVleet scored 22 points to help secure the first Larry O’Brien Trophy in franchise history.
But playing deep into June complicated things for VanVleet, the entrepreneur.
The 25-year-old point guard had prepared to spend the summer after his third NBA season growing his apparel company, and determining whether to sign with a footwear sponsor or to enter the shoe business himself.