A point guard, VanVleet played college basketball for Wichita State University before beginning his NBA career.

As a junior for the 2014–15 Shockers, he was an All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) first-team selection and received All-American honorable mention recognition from the Associated Press.

VanVleet is the Wichita State career assists leader and was named MVC Men's Basketball Player of the Year as both a sophomore and a senior.

[1] His mother later remarried Joe Danforth, an Army Veteran and member of the Rockford Police Department, who served as VanVleet's personal trainer, encouraging him to be better than everyone else.

[9] When VanVleet accepted an offer to play for Wichita State, he became the only member of the national class of 2012 Rivals.com top 150 to attend a Missouri Valley Conference school.

[13] Sources: As a freshman, VanVleet contributed double-digit scoring twice (against Gonzaga and Ohio State) in the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament from off the bench as the 2012–13 Shockers team reached the final four.

[14] Against Gonzaga, his 13 points[15] included a basket with 1:28 remaining that helped the Shockers secure only the fifth Sweet 16 appearance by a #9 seed since the tournament went to 64 teams in 1985.

[21] On January 23, 2014, he was selected to the 23-man Oscar Robertson Award midseason watchlist by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

[24] The 28–0 Shockers (Cleanthony Early, Tekele Cotton, VanVleet, Ron Baker and Chadrack Lufile) appeared on the cover of the February 24, 2014 Sports Illustrated.

[36] On March 11, he was named to the all-District VI (IA, MO, KS, OK, NE, ND, SD) team by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

[38] He was named as one of six finalists for the Cousy Award (along with Kyle Anderson, Aaron Craft, Tyler Ennis, Shabazz Napier and Marcus Paige).

[41] VanVleet was Preseason All-American first-team selection by USA Today,[42] Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook,[43] Bleacher Report,[44] CBSSports.com,[45] Sports Illustrated[46] and Associated Press.

[57][58] In his return visit to Chicago and the Gentile Center to play Loyola on January 11, VanVleet was perfect from the field again with a 5-for-5 performance and added a career-high-tying 10 assists (as well as 6 rebounds and 3 steals) for his first career double-double.

[66] In the opening game of the 2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for the Shockers, VanVleet matched a career high with 27 points against Indiana.

[103] For the season, he repeated as the MVC in assists per game (5.55) leader for a third time and led the conference in free throw percentage (81.7%).

[110] At the time of his signing, the Raptors had 14 players entering training camp on guaranteed contracts, including point guards Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph and Delon Wright.

[111] VanVleet was competing with Brady Heslip, Drew Crawford, Yanick Moreira, E. J. Singler and Jarrod Uthoff for the final spot.

[113][114] VanVleet made his official league debut on November 9, 2016, playing in only 26 seconds in a 112–102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[116] With Lowry sidelined for a night, VanVleet played with the second unit and posted career highs with 25 minutes and 10 points on January 17 against the Brooklyn Nets.

[125] VanVleet finished the 2017–18 season averaging 8.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 76 games; he ranked fourth in the NBA in net efficiency per possession behind Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon and Chris Paul and was the only full-time bench player in the top 20 (19th) in the league for plus–minus.

After an early post-season shooting slump,[135] during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Bucks, VanVleet scored 21 points on seven three-pointers in a 105–99 victory, helping the Raptors take a 3–2 series lead.

[136] In Game 6, he scored 14 points in a 100–94 series-clinching victory over the Bucks, helping the Raptors advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

[141] In the season-opener on October 22 against the New Orleans Pelicans, VanVleet scored a career-high 34 points after receiving his first NBA championship ring.

[142] On January 4, 2020, VanVleet posted 29 points, including 22 in the second half, and a season-high 11 assists, keying a 16-point comeback victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

[143][144] In the Raptors’ second game returning from the suspension of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic on August 3, VanVleet scored a career-high 36 points, hitting seven three-pointers, in a 107–103 victory over the Miami Heat in the Orlando bubble.

[156] When he returned from his six-game injury and one-game suspension, he was held to six points (0-for-6 on three-point shots) by the Orlando Magic ending the streak.

[164][165][166] This made VanVleet the fourth undrafted player (along with Moses Malone, Mike James and Connie Hawkins) to score 30 or more points in three consecutive games.

[176] On April 2, 2023, VanVleet recorded a career-high and Raptors-record 20 assists, along with 20 points, five rebounds and three steals in a 128–108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

He and Hall of Famer Bob Davies are the only undrafted players in NBA history to register a game with 20-plus points and 20-plus assists.

Season 1 of the podcast was advertised to "feature conversations about perseverance, struggles, and success with up-and-coming Black Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs in Canada,"[191]