Fred VanVleet needed about three minutes to show he was ready. Playing his first NBA game since May 2025, the Houston Rockets point guard hit three 3-pointers in the opening minutes of Friday's NBA China Games opener in Macao. He finished with 17 points, seven assists and two steals in 24 minutes, and Houston beat the Dallas Mavericks 135-117 at The Venetian Arena.
All 12 of his shots came from three-point range, and he made five. Nine of his points came in the first quarter. It was one preseason game against a Dallas team that sat Cooper Flagg for the second half, but the shot looked like the one Houston paid for. Five makes from deep in limited minutes is the strongest sign so far that the knee is not limiting his shooting.
VanVleet tore his right ACL in September 2025 during an offseason workout in the Bahamas, just before training camp. The injury also involved his meniscus and cost him the entire 2025-26 season, a 523-day gap between NBA games. He still exercised his $25 million player option for 2026-27 in late June. Coach Ime Udoka confirmed in late September that VanVleet had been cleared, and he has since been taking part in 5-on-5 work.
The more important context for fantasy managers is how Houston managed without him. The Rockets won 52 games for the second straight season and lost in the first round for the second straight season, this time 4-2 to the Lakers. With no true point guard, ballhandling went to a committee of Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard. Houston ranked 24th in the league in turnovers at 14.4 per game, and Udoka has said the team plateaued.
VanVleet fixes that problem directly. He is not a wing, and he will not turn Houston into a title favorite by himself. What he gives the Rockets is a lead guard with a 37.1 percent career mark from three, which lets Thompson, Sengun and Durant go back to their best roles. Friday showed that balance. Sengun posted a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Tari Eason led the team with 20 points, and VanVleet ran the offense around them.
Durant may benefit as much as anyone. He ranked third in the NBA in minutes per game last season at 36.4 at age 37, and he missed all but one game of the Lakers series with knee and ankle injuries. A healthy VanVleet gives Udoka another creator to trust in late-game situations, which should lower Durant's regular-season workload. Durant will not play in Sunday's rematch with Dallas.
VanVleet's return also puts several Rockets on the move in fantasy terms. Thompson's assist numbers came partly from running the offense, and some of those touches will go back to VanVleet. Sheppard probably takes the biggest hit. The extra on-ball chances he got last season now belong to a veteran starter, and the offseason additions of Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic leave the backcourt even more crowded. Sengun's playmaking should hold up better, because it runs through the post rather than the point.
There is one limit to keep in mind. Udoka expects to hold VanVleet out of back-to-backs early in the season, although VanVleet has said he does not want that restriction to last long. In weekly head-to-head leagues, that could cost him a game during busy weeks in October and November. In daily formats, check Houston's schedule before locking him in on the second night of a back-to-back.
The draft case is straightforward. VanVleet is 32, coming off a major knee injury and playing next to stars who will take their share of the ball. He will not dominate any single category. He should still deliver threes, assists and steals at a guard spot, and managers may get him at a discount because he was off draft boards all of last year. Friday's game suggests his shooting has held up. The open question is how many minutes Houston will give him while it manages his first season back.
Managers in deeper leagues should take VanVleet in the middle rounds as a dependable source of threes and assists. If his preseason minutes keep climbing toward the mid-20s and beyond, move him up. Lower expectations for Sheppard, and keep Thompson for his defense and rebounding rather than his playmaking.