Fred VanVleet Tested Positive for COVID-19, Battled Mild Symptoms

The Toronto Raptors are getting Fred VanVleet back after his COVID-19 diagnosis, but nobody knows exactly what he and the team will look like when they return

Aaron Rose | Mar 16, 2021

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

It started just before the All-Star break when Fred VanVleet got his COVID-19 test results back.

On February 26, the Raptors listed Pascal Siakam, Nick Nurse, and five assistant coaches out due to COVID-19 protocols. In the ensuing days, the team went into lockdown, quarantining everyone to ensure whatever positive cases didn't spread. That's when VanVleet got the news that he was not one of the lucky ones. He had indeed tested positive for COVID-19.

"At that point, it was just a matter of trying to get somewhere, get isolated and get away from my kids and my girl and my family," he said. "I hunkered down."

At first, he felt fine, but that would soon change. For two or three days he said he battled body aches, headaches, eye pain, and back soreness. He didn't have the shortness of breathing that most others complain of, but it was "rough," he said.

"Definitely nothing like anything I’ve ever had," he said. "I could feel that it was something different, I could feel the sickness, I could just feel it in me, I could feel it in my bones, in my muscles, in my blood, it just was something that was taking over my body for a short period of time."

He spent those first few days just trying to battle the virus as best he could. He'd wake up and try to have breakfast if he felt OK. If not, he'd lay on his couch or in bed watching TV for as long as he could.

He wasn't allowed to do much else. League protocols prohibited him from playing, practicing, shooting a basketball, or even doing a push-up, he said. The only bit of excitement he'd get was during Raptors games when he'd sit perched in front of his TV playing the role of armchair coordinator. Unfortunately, those games weren't very pretty for Toronto who dropped all five games without VanVleet.

"I would say it was frustrating, it was hard to watch," VanVleet said as he delicately tried to find the right words.

There is nobody to blame for VanVleet's positive test. He, like so many others around the world, was adhering to COVID-19 protocols, doing everything he could to stay safe, and it just happened, he said. The report that the team's coaching staff was to blame for the COVID-19 issues was entirely unfair, he said.

"Once you get it, you understand: Like, I don’t know where I got it from. I don’t know who gave it to me or where it came from or what the case is, and the doctors don’t know, and the people who are paid a lot of money to figure this out don’t know," he said.

But now VanVleet is back. He practiced with the team Tuesday night and he may be available to go on Wednesday night if he clears the final COVID-19 protocol before he's game eligible. Ultimately, that's out of both his and the team's hands, he said.

"I do not have any expectations for tomorrow," he said. "We’re doing some clearance, trying to get my conditioning back to clear all the protocol so that way I’m checked off. I’m not a liability for anybody when I step out on the court. I have no expectations for tomorrow, but I would like to play, I’ll say that much.”

The Raptors are going to need him. They're 17-22 and sitting just outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The question will be what does he look like when he returns? Other players have battled the effects of COVID-19 for months after their diagnosis. Jayson Tatum said he was still dealing with some fatigue almost two months after testing positive. The Raptors know they can't push the returning players too far. Nurse acknowledged he'd have to be very cautious working everyone back. But even so, nobody knows what these players will look like when they return.

"I’ll tell you one thing: I’mma go out there swinging," VanVleet said. "I’mma jump in there and if I don’t feel right when I’m out there then you guys will see me walk back to the locker room and I’ll be out until I feel better but whenever I step foot back out there I’m going out there swinging."

Further Reading