Jan 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) and head coach Ime Udoka look on in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Jan 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) and head coach Ime Udoka look on in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Fred VanVleet last played for the Rockets in 2024-25 before tearing his right ACL and meniscus during training last summer. After sitting out a year to recover from his injury, VanVleet is ramping up his workouts to tick off the final checklist of injury recovery activities before being declared fully healthy to return.
Ime Udoka, the Rockets’ head coach, recently honored the firefighters at Houston’s Fire Station 08 Downtown in remembrance of September 11, 2001, with the team, then spoke to the media present at the venue. He revealed that he is very excited about Fred VanVleet’s return to action.
“It’s great; in the last month or so, he has really ramped it up in San Diego doing his rehab. He’s doing some back-to-backs, some contact, so when you get to that point, you get a little more excited, and I’m sure he is as well.”
“Me being a guy who’s had two ACL tears, I know there are these check marks that you have to check off. You can see him getting a little more excited as the season is starting up, but you can also see the ramp-up process with it,” Udoka said.
With the regular season tipoff less than 40 days away, VanVleet seems to be on track to return to action right from October. His veteran leadership and shooting threat were two key things missing on the court last season as the Rockets tumbled out of the first round without him and Kevin Durant available.
When VanVleet last played in the NBA (during the 2024-25 season), he averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 38.4% from the field and 35.6% from three.
The Rockets’ social media team released footage of VanVleet’s return to practice as he inches closer to being fully ready for action, and fans had mixed reactions.
“Oh yeah, everybody about to owe FVV an apology.”
“Locked in. 60 wins downloading.”
“Steady Freddy is back Rockets will dominate this season.”
“Championship DNA.”
“Look how slow he moves, smh. Don’t get ur hopes up, y’all, cuz these vids prove nothing.”
“Unc moving slow as hell.”
FVV back in action pic.twitter.com/0a4UGPbJoa
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) September 10, 2026
With training camp less than two weeks away, Fred VanVleet seems ready to come back to action. But we still haven’t received confirmation that he will be in the starting lineup when the season tips off.
He might even accept a bench role behind Reed Sheppard before he finds his best form back on the court. An ACL tear is one of the hardest injuries to recover from, so we can expect Fred VanVleet may not move as fast as he used to.
But his playmaking, ball movement, and floor-spacing threat can be an asset for the Rockets right from opening night. The Rockets face the Mavericks on opening night (October 21) at Toyota Center in Houston. Let’s see if Fred VanVleet will be available to play that night.