Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet returns from torn ACL, will sit one game of back-to-backs
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The gist
Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet is back from a torn ACL but will sit one game of back-to-backs.
Marcus Smart starts at point guard when he rests, as Houston manages his workload.
Background
Fred VanVleet is the Houston Rockets' 32-year-old veteran starting point guard, returning after missing the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL suffered just before last season began in September. His initial goal was a six-to-seven-month return if the Rockets were in good playoff position and rehab went well, but that did not happen and he took a traditional full year to regain full strength. In 2024-25 he averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 35.2 minutes across 60 regular-season games. The Rockets play 13 back-to-back sets this season, the first on Friday and Saturday of opening week.
How it unfolded
- 2025 -26 seasonVanVleet missed the entire season with a torn right ACL, sustained just before the season began in September.
- Oct 15, 2026VanVleet was in line to play about one half of the preseason finale against the Thunder, listed for rest.
- Oct 18, 2026Coach Ime Udoka said VanVleet would face no minutes restrictions to start the regular season, though the team might be cautious in back-to-back sets.
- Oct 20, 2026Udoka confirmed VanVleet will sit out one game of back-to-back sets to open the season, with Marcus Smart starting in the games he takes off; the first such set begins Friday against the Spurs.
- Oct 21, 2026VanVleet's trainer Mike Guevara said the Rockets will have 'a lot more W's than L's because Fred is back in the starting lineup,' starting with Wednesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Coach Ime Udoka said VanVleet faces no minutes restrictions to begin the season, but confirmed he will sit one game of back-to-back sets, with Marcus Smart starting in his place.
- Support
- Trainer Mike Guevara said the Rockets will have 'a lot more W's than L's because Fred is back in the starting lineup.'
- Caution
- Guevara said the initial comeback goal depended on the Rockets being in good playoff position and rehab going well, but 'It just didn't happen that way,' and he conceded uncertainty about VanVleet's numbers this season.
Still unverified
Whether the back-to-back restrictions will remain in place for the whole season is not yet settled, and VanVleet's trainer has conceded uncertainty about what his numbers will look like in 2026-27.