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NBA point guards: Houston’s Fred VanVleet ranked among better starters
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- NBA point guards: Houston’s Fred VanVleet ranked among better starters
Fred VanVleet isn't flashy, and his shooting numbers (37.8% overall, 34.5% on 3-pointers) dipped during an injury plagued 2024-25 season. Yet, the 6-foot-0 veteran was the starting point guard and on-court leader for a resurgent Houston Rockets squad that finished with the No. 2 record (52-30) in the Western Conference.
Those were among the many reasons that Houston awarded VanVleet a new contract this offseason. It has also brought the 31-year-old considerable respect around the NBA, including in HoopsHype's updated point-guard rankings for the 2025-26 season.
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With VanVleet checking in at No. 17, Frank Urbina writes:
Veteran floor general Fred VanVleet continues trucking along as one of the better starting point guards in the league, playing with impressive amounts of toughness to go with his deep 3-point shooting and steady playmaking.
VanVleet isn't an All-Star, at least not in the loaded West, but he's on the tier right below that among NBA point guards. Just last season, the Illinois native helped play a large part in the Rockets making the leap from mediocrity back to being among the West's elite. It merely led to a first-round exit for the team but even so, it was an important year for the Rockets — one that the group, led by VanVleet, will be expected to build on in 2025-26.
On the list, VanVleet is just ahead of Orlando 's Jalen Suggs , Dallas ' Kyrie Irving , and Indiana 's Andrew Nembhard . He is narrowly behind Boston 's Payton Pritchard , Chicago 's Josh Giddey , and Charlotte's LaMelo Ball .
As for 2025-26, the hope in Houston is that VanVleet's efficiency metrics will come closer to matching his tracking data and intangibles. It's worth noting that in his first season (2023-24) with the Rockets, in which he was much healthier, VanVleet averaged 17.4 points (38.7% on 3-pointers) and 8.1 assists per game.
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Those numbers fell off in 2024-25, yet in the 2025 playoffs, VanVleet bounced back to average 18.7 points per game while shooting 43.5% from 3-point range.
With a healthy ankle and the presence of Kevin Durant to shoulder more of the scoring load, the Rockets are hopeful of having a more efficient version of VanVleet in 2025-26.
More: Rockets gain spending power by restructuring Fred VanVleet to two-year, $50-million deal
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: NBA point guards: Houston's Fred VanVleet ranked among better starters
