Northern IL Town Get Shoutout From Homegrown Star During NBA Championship Celebration

Unless you are a big basketball fan, you probably had no idea who Fred VanVleet was. That means you probably also didn’t know he was a local guy!

VanVleet, who played at mid-major Wichita State, went undrafted, worked his way up through the NBA’s minor leagues (the G-League), to earn a spot with the Raptors came through in a big way yesterday to help Toronto win the first title in franchise history.

And he doesn’t forget where he came from. And that’s not just a cliche…he literally reminded everyone where he came from at the end of his post-game interview on ESPN:

Rockford shoutout from Fred VanVleet on National TV. HELL YEAH! #NBAFinals #Raptors #NBAFinals2019 pic.twitter.com/DaVkHFvF1I

— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) June 14, 2019

VanVleet hasn’t forgotten Rockford, and Rockford sure as hell hasn’t forgotten Fred.

Rockford is going BANANAS for Fred VanVleet! (Via ig/_sirwhite_) pic.twitter.com/aKnHbJDqBl

— Barstool Chicago (@barstoolchicago) June 14, 2019

Very cool moment for Northern Illinois amidst the mayhem of an NBA championship.