Fred VanVleet: the brutal coup
A tropical heat in the Caribbean, a training like any other, and then the clapping: ACL. Fred VanVleet broke the anterior cross ligament of the knee. Check? Probable end of season 2025-26 for the strong leader of the Houston Rockets.
The weight of the present
Fred VanVleet isn't anyone. It was the seasoned veteran, former All-Star, NBA champion in 2019, who transformed the face of the Rockets. His finish in 2023 coincided with a metamorphosis: 22 wins to 41 in the first year, up to 52 wins and a second place in the West last season.
On the individual level, his stats do not pay everything: about 14.1 points, 5.6 passes, 3.7 rebounds in the regular season, a basketball focused as much on the brain as on energy. And in the playoffs, when it counts, his average was 18.7 points. His shooting from afar, his ability to press, to defend hard, to take control of the attack: his forces.
The decor that collapses
Everything was ready for an ambitious season. The contract extension signed (2 years, $50 million, with an option for 2026-27) confirmed Houston's continued belief in him.
Then Kevin Durant arrives, the executives settle down: you feel a team that aims high.
And then patatras. This knee that drops in training, a moment of silence for the locker room, for the team, for the fans. The announcement falls: imminent operation, expected return in 6 to 12 months, but an entire svanuit season.
Immediate effects
Houston loses more than a player: he loses a conductor. VanVleet is the voice in the locker room, linking young talent and title ambitions.
The hole is serious at the leadership position. Internal options become essential: Reed Sheppard, promising young, Amen Thompson, Aaron Holiday.
We can expect the team to change its rotations or even its game plan: less dependence on distance shooting "volume », more collective play, passes, defensive effort.
And beyond the field, morale. When your reference player suffers, it's all over the franchise. Expectations, already high, move in weight, in questions about the ability to aim very high without the leader's right arm.
Prospects, resilience and future challenges
But VanVleet, if there's one thing his career shows, it's that he never gives up. The return is long, demanding, but not impossible. Many players have managed to return from a breakup of the ACL to return to performance at the highest level. Mind, physiotherapy, patience will become its best allies.
If Houston wants to stay in the conversation of the suitors in the title, they will have to adapt: integrate the young, adjust expectations, perhaps redistribute offensive roles. Kevin Durant, though major, can't carry a team alone. Strategies will have to be rethought, perhaps more balanced.
Conclusion: the test as a revelation
The announcement of the rupture of Fred VanVleet's cross ligament is a hard blow. But in this moment of fragility, we also see what it was: a pillar. A player who wore more than stats on his shoulders. And who, even injured, remains essential for what the team wants to become.
The question now: Will Houston bounce back? Will the young people seize their chance? Will VanVleet come back with the same bite, the same rage to win? These are the real stories, those that close the wound, not the ones that expose it.
Or even: is what a free agent at Russell Westbrook would be interesting for the Texas franchise in view of his relationship (more than tense in recent years) with the new star of the team: Kevin Durant.
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