Fred VanVleet Recalls the Moment He Knew Pascal Siakam Was Special & Where He Ranks All-Time

The Toronto Raptors didn't know what they had in Pascal Siakam back in 2016, but seven years later he's proving to be one of the franchise's all-time greats

Aaron Rose | Dec 4, 2022

Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports

Fred VanVleet knew Pascal Siakam could score. Two college games against one another had proven that much. But just how good could the then 21-year-old New Mexico State star really be, VanVleet wasn't quite sure.

Siakam had no distinct role when he first arrived in Toronto, this unorthodox 6-foot-9 forward selected with the 27th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. As a rookie, he'd open games with the starters only to disappear into the bench when crunch time rolled around. As the season wore on, his role all but evaporated. He played in as many G-League games following the All-Star break during that season as he did NBA games.

But then something clicked. It was October 25, 2017, as VanVleet recalled, the fourth game of Siakam's sophomore when everything changed. Siakam had started hot that night on the road against the Golden State Warriors. He was getting his bread-and-butter buckets in the paint when DeMar DeRozan suddenly through a kick-out pass to Siakam above the arc. To that point, Siakam had made one total NBA three-pointer in his career. The Warriors seemed to know it. Siakam tried to keep the ball moving but Steph Curry slid into the passing lane leaving Siakam all alone. He had no choice but to let it go.

Swish.

Two possessions later, DeRozan found Siakam in the corner. This time there was no hesitation. Siakam caught the ball and let it rip, nailing his second three-pointer of the game.

"That was the day we knew this was gonna be a $100 million guy," VanVleet said Saturday. "You could just see it. And once he started to put it together after that, the rest is history."

Just over 6,000 points later, Siakam now sits fifth all-time in Raptors scoring, having eclipsed Andrea Bargnani on Saturday night as he reached 6,604 career points in Toronto.

"This is a testament to, I mean, his skill level and his talent, but the work he puts in and just the relentless attitude and just how far he's grown," said VanVleet who signed with the Raptors as an undrafted free agent the same year Siakam joined the team. "It’s hard to find a trajectory like that in the league and he deserves a ton of credit for that."

In his seven NBA seasons, Siakam has developed from a rim-running, high-energy bench player, to a secondary scorer on a championship team, the league's Most Improved Player, an All-Star, and a bonafide All-NBA caliber player. He set a goal for himself this season to become a top-five player in the league and while he's not there yet, he's not too far away. He's one of just two players alongside Luka Doncic averaging at least 24 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists per game this season.

"I think when we first got him, we were excited about his energy, his athleticism, and things like that. And his hunger to play," said Raptors coach Nick Nurse who admitted he didn't expect this kind of development from Siakam. "He's obviously had some ups and downs, like most guys do in their careers, and come out of it here on the other side.

"He's done a lot of work to work on his shooting, work on his skills, adjust to some vision and passing and all that kind of stuff, and I think there's still a level he's trying to climb up to here, and I think he can get back - I mean, he was playing probably his best level earlier this season, and he can get back to it."

At this rate, it won't be too long before Siakam checks off the next name on the Raptors' scoring list: Vince Carter. He sits just 2,816 points back of Carter's 9,420, a number he'll likely eclipse at some point late next season or early in 2025 if he can stay healthy. After that, it's Chris Bosh, Kyle Lowry, and DeMar DeRozan who sits at 13,296, a number that would likely require another four or five years with the organization to reach.

Regardless of how high he climbs, Siakam has now entered the conversation as one of the Raptors' all-time greats. By the time he leaves the organization, he'll be at or near the top in almost every major statistical category, he'll have as many or more All-NBA appearances as any other Raptors player, and a championship to his name. While he may not be nipping at Lowry's "Great Raptor of All-Time" title quite yet, he's not too far away.

"I think what we're seeing from him this year is putting him pretty high on the list," VanVleet said. "I think we all are spoiled now since we won a championship, we hold everything to that caliber. So if he can lead us in the playoffs like that, with that same incredible performance, I think he's going to keep climbing and he'll have a heck of a case at the end of his career."

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