Tough news for the Houston Rockets, as frontman Fred VanVleet has suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and will miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season. 

The 31-year-old point guard, a key piece in the Rockets’ resurgence, now faces a long road to recovery just as the team was gearing up for a serious title run.

VanVleet joined the Rockets in 2023 and quickly became the engine that powered their turnaround in the Western Conference. With him running the show last season, Houston notched 52 wins and finished as the No. 2 seed. Their playoff run was cut short in a hard-fought seven-game battle with the Golden State Warriors, but the future looked bright until now.

This summer, VanVleet restructured his contract to help the Rockets go big. After the team declined his US$44 million option, he re-signed on a two-year, US$50 million deal, giving Houston the cap space needed to bring in major reinforcements. That move helped make room for the blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant, plus key additions like Dorian Finney-Smith and a contract extension for centre Steven Adams. Just a week out from training camp, the Rockets now find themselves scrambling to fill a void that’s almost impossible to replace.

The pressure will now shift to third-year guard Amen Thompson, who will likely step into a starting role. Veteran Aaron Holiday is expected to see increased minutes as well. And then there’s rookie Reed Sheppard, a sharpshooting guard who barely saw the floor last season but is suddenly in line for a much bigger role. The Rockets believe in his long-term potential; now, he might be fast-tracked into proving it.

Last season, VanVleet averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.7 rebounds across 60 games, while shooting 34.5 per cent from beyond the arc. Those numbers don’t tell the whole story his impact on both ends of the court, his poise, and his leadership were foundational to Houston’s rise.

Now, with their floor general sidelined, the Rockets’ path to contention just got a lot more complicated.