The NBA has been witnessing a number of record-breaking performances recently. These are mostly executed by some of the biggest stars of the league, putting up monster numbers on the court. Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and Donovan Mitchell are just a few of the players, who have been making headlines with their exceptional performances. Despite the groundbreaking performances, an NBA star has recently revealed his hot take regarding players ending up with a boatload of points after the game.

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has been on a scoring tear lately, putting up big numbers despite his team’s lackluster performances. 2019 NBA champion Fred VanVleet had something to say about players like Curry, Lillard and Luka Doncic putting up massive numbers and how the modern NBA defense is curated to facilitate just that.

NBA star weighs in about the league

Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell has been putting up historic numbers this season. With 44, 42, and 40-point performances in his past three games, Mitchell now holds the record for most single-season 40-point games in Cavaliers history, surpassing LeBron James’ record of 10 in 2006. Mitchell also surpassed Kyrie Irving for the most 40-point games in franchise history, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. With an average of 28.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, Mitchell has been virtually unguardable this season, even scoring a 71-point masterpiece earlier this year.

On the other hand, Damian Lillard, the star point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, has also been on a scoring rampage lately. In a recent game against the Sacramento Kings, Lillard scored 41 points, including eight 3-pointers, in just the first half. Although he fell short of breaking the all-time record for most points in a game, Lillard still managed to score a career-high 71 points in a win against the Memphis Grizzlies. 

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However, despite these incredible performances, Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet had a reality check to offer to these generation talents. In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, VanVleet was asked, “Why do you think it is so much more common now? Like there has been a crazy number of 50-plus point games just this season.”

In response, the Toronto star stated, “I think the players are getting better. I think the defense is getting harder to play. I think the rules are favoring the offense for sure…”

“So naturally, you just see a rising and scoring, and um, these guys with the three-point shot now, um, we’ve seen 70s, you know, become more of a thing. Like, it’s going to keep going up, you know, that we’ve got incredible guys, incredible scores, and skill sets in this league. I think that’s the big reason why.” he added. VanVleet reiterated the concern of a lot of NBA talking heads that the modern NBA doesn’t play defense to allow more buckets in games.

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VanVleet’s marvelous display this season 

Fred VanVleet himself has been putting up some impressive numbers this season, setting a Raptors franchise record for most assists in a game with 20. In a win against the Charlotte Hornets, VanVleet had a double-double with 20 points and 20 assists, along with five rebounds and three steals. He made seven of his 17 field goal attempts, one of eight 3-point attempts, and all five free throws. With a career-high average of 7.2 assists per game and a Raptors record of 476 assists this season, VanVleet has become one of the league’s top playmakers.

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In addition to VanVleet’s record-setting performance, all five Raptors starters reached double digits in scoring in the win against the Hornets. With the win, the Raptors improved to a record of 39 wins and 39 losses and qualified for the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament.