Fred VanVleet
, the multi-year starter at point guard for the Houston Rockets
, recently suffered a torn right ACL during an unofficial team minicamp in The Bahamas.
He is scheduled for surgery this week, per Kelly Iko of Yahoo! Sports
. Now 31 years old, VanVleet averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 assists per game last season, and he remains extremely well respected as a veteran locker-room leader.
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The Rockets are not ruling out a return before the 2025-26 playoffs, which will begin in approximately seven months. However, that would be on the extreme short end of average ACL recovery timelines
.
Even in the best-case scenario, VanVleet is certain to miss at least most of the season, and that is a brutal blow for the Rockets. After their blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant
, Houston was widely projected to be among the NBA's 2025-26 championship contenders.
With VanVleet sidelined, second-year guard Reed Sheppard
— drafted at No. 3 overall in the 2024 first round — could potentially be in line to replace him at point guard. Another option would be sliding over Amen Thompson
to point guard and starting either Tari Eason
or Dorian Finney-Smith
in his previous wing spot, as part of a larger lineup.
Training camp opens for the Rockets next Tuesday, September 30.
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Because the Rockets are hard capped at the NBA's first-apron threshold
, they do not immediately have many options to immediately change the roster. However, once 2025 offseason signings such as VanVleet, Finney-Smith, Clint Capela
, Steven Adams
, and more become trade eligible during the season ( either December 15 or January 15
), trades would become a more realistic possibility, if desired.
More: NBA point guards: Houston's Fred VanVleet ranked among better starters
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire:
Rockets lose Fred VanVleet to torn right ACL, which could end season
