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Fred VanVleet doesn't get the credit he deserves: Chauncey Billups

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups discusses returning to Toronto and why he feels Fred VanVleet is one of the most underappreciated players in the NBA.

Video Transcript

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: Please.

- Thank you. Having the opportunity to visit cities that you played in as a player-- here your are in Toronto. I think it's 29 games. And you were 21 years old.

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: Yeah.

- Some things have changed. But what's it like coming back here?

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: You know, I've always enjoyed coming back here. And like you said, I wasn't here very long. In fact, it's funny that we just played Boston, who I wasn't there very long either. That was the same year. But it's always a good time coming back here. There's not a lot of people here that were here way back in the day when I was here.

But it was a lot of fun. There were so many things that are different. I mean, I actually lived in the Skydome. We played in the Skydome. So you could look out of my hotel room right onto the court. It was so many crazy things that I'd laugh about.

But I loved my little time here. It was fun. We weren't a very good team. But basketball was kind of new to the country, kind of. But the fans were great. So it was a lot of fun.

- As you're a former point guard, just seeing what Fred has been able to do and especially this season, what do you think of how his game has kind of evolved or devolved the last couple of weeks?

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: Yeah. Yeah, Freddy is-- he's just so underappreciated to me by the league. I think he's maybe the most underrated player in the game. He can do it all. I mean, he doesn't get the credit for being-- he really is like a lockdown defender. He's a big shot-taker and maker. He's able to manipulate defenses with his skill set and his IQ.

And when most players can do those type of things, those are the superstars in our league. So I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves. He's tough as nails. I've been proud to watch him develop and continue to get better and better and just lead his guys.