Fred VanVleet arrived for the first day of his rookie training camp early, keen to prove he was ready to work.
He arrived at 9 a.m. for an 11 a.m. practice only to find Kyle Lowry stretching after a weight workout. He'd been there since 6.
“So, learning what it takes to be a pro, like passing up the drink, taking the sleep, eating something that you might . . . you eat right, you sleep, you stay the extra hour for treatment, you come the extra hour early to get the work in. There's a lot that goes into it, there's not a lot of wiggle room, and I think that young players have to learn that really fast.”
The Raptors play their first regular-season game at Scotiabank Arena in 600 days, finally back after a season spent calling Tampa, Fla., home. T-shirts, signs, and social media hashtags have heralded their return with two simple words: “We back.” Toronto has been called this season's mystery team because of so many new young faces. Asked how good he believes they can be, Dragic said he was pleasantly surprised during the pre-season.
VanVleet said the rebuilt Raptors are well-prepared for the season, having done more work in training camp, he said, than in any other season he'd played.
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