Sophomore Fred VanVleet was named 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Tuesday. “The way the season worked out I just had to take more of a role and be more of a force on both ends of the floor for us,” he said. (File photo by The Sunflower)

For the first time, a former Wichita State men’s basketball player has been elected as president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the labor union that represents all players in the NBA.

Fred VanVleet, who played for the Shockers from 2012-16, was announced president on Saturday and was elected at the Board of Player Representatives meeting the same day. His four-year duties are effective immediately.

He, along with eight other members of the NBPA’s Executive Committee, will make decisions about future policies within the union.

VanVleet succeeds the Washington Wizards’ CJ McCollum, who served as the NBPA’s president from 2021-25 and vice president from 2018-21. 

“With a deep appreciation for the complexities and challenges players face on all levels of their NBA journeys, I am committed to approaching this role with the passion, dignity, and dedication every player deserves,” VanVleet said in a statement.

VanVleet is the NBPA’s 16th president since the union’s foundation in 1954, entering his third season with the Houston Rockets. He was undrafted in 2016 and later became a pivotal piece for the Toronto Raptors in 2019 when they won the NBA Championship.

VanVleet averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 assists last season for Houston, marks good enough for 70th and 28th in the NBA, respectively. The Rockets lost in seven games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors.

He’s averaged 14.9 points and 5.7 assists per game so far during his nine seasons in the NBA. He has also shot 40.1% from the floor, 37.1% from 3-point range and 86.2% from the free throw line.

Before winning an NBA Championship and earning an NBA All-Star nod in 2022, VanVleet was a part of the 2012-13 Wichita State team that made the NCAA Final Four and the 2013-14 team that went a perfect 35-0 before losing in the NCAA Round of 32 against Kentucky.

During his career for the Shockers, VanVleet averaged 10.2 points and 4.5 assists per game to go with career marks of 42.6% field goal shooting and 38.6% 3-point shooting. His 637 career assists, 3.08 career assist-to-turnover ratio and 225 career steals are the most in program history.

He was awarded AP All-America Honorable Mention three times and was named First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference three times from 2014-16.