A biography for Fred VanVleethasn’t been written yet.
“I'mma be honest, I always think I'm the best player in the gym and sometimes I'm right and sometimes I'm wrong and sometimes you can show it and sometimes you don't.”
“I didn't have the front office telling the coaches to play me. I wasn't even signed to a big agency. I didn't have agencies reaching out to reporters on my behalf. And that's the stuff that plays a part in the business of the game, and I didn't have an equal opportunity, until I got my feet in the door. And then I did the rest by myself.”
“I don't think I have any more room on my shoulder for more chips.”
“You kind of don't know what you can't do until you get out there and do it.”
“I felt like I'd been burned or that everybody owed me something.”
“It's super important. It's something that I do, something that I've always done, trying to give back to the community in any way possible.”
“I think I just earned the coaches' respect. That's not to say by any stretch that I'm dictating any game plans or coverages or anything. But to have that little voice is huge and something I take a lot of pride in.”
“There's no opportunity in Rockford, so if you stay there, you don't see the world as very big.”
“I partnered with Penny Appeal Canada because I believe in what they're about. The work they do aligns with the reasons I give back.”
“Teams can tell you they value you all they want to, but until they show you the numbers, then you know what that means.”
“I love being in the gym.”
“I take pride in playing every game like it's my last.”
“You've just got to kind of decide what's important to you. Like, where your priority is. Is it what other people say? Is it the national media? You can always find something.”
“I've always had the instinct and I always have the mind to make the right play.”
“I study all the greats, and Steph is definitely one of those guys that I've taken a lot from to try to add to as the best that I can.”
“You've got to be able to be happy for other people before other people can be happy for you.”
“Obviously, me being the leader and the point guard out there, it's my job to be the calming presence and sometimes I do a good job of that, sometimes I don't.”
“Our parents busted their butts to make us feel like we weren't broke and in our neighbourhood we were probably more well off than everyone we knew, but we lived cheque-to-cheque. There was no money to save or invest.”
“My emotions weren't always directed in the best way.”
“There's so many stories about guys who made it to the NBA without the draft. Overseas, whatever, call-ups.”