Why Fred VanVleet Should Aim for Sixth Man of the Year

The Houston Rockets have won 52 regular season games in each of the last two years, but have still yet to make it past the first round of the playoffs. Their shortcomings were understandable against the Golden State Warriors in 2025, as they ultimately pushed it to a seven game series. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about this past season. 

With Kevin Durant out due to injury, the Rockets had an embarrassing start against the LA Lakers. While they avoided getting swept, the six game series left a bad taste in the mouth of many fans, myself included. Everyone was missing the stability that a true point guard like Fred VanVleet brings to the team. 

Thankfully for the Rockets, he’s now healthy and ready to start the season. He's also 32 years old with a birthday at the end of February, and more importantly, he’s a small guard returning from a serious injury. As happy as I am to see him back on the court, I also have great concerns with him being a full-time starter. 

We just don’t know how his body will hold up, or if he’s lost a step. Granted, he’s always been more crafty than quick, but even losing a little bit of athleticism can be detrimental. It would be better for him to ease himself back into the swing of things against bench units. 

Not to mention, Houston has five separate back-to-backs on the schedule before Christmas, as covered on Roundtable. Players returning from injury often rest in those games, and having a starter constantly in and out of the lineup isn’t great for team chemistry. Having a bench player in and out of the lineup is relatively normal. 

Fred VanVleet’s injury kept this team in turmoil all of last season, and I don’t want that to happen again. The blame isn’t even on him, it’s on the front office and coaching staff. They were comfortable going the whole season without a true point guard. They had no issue with KD playing the third most minutes in the league. 

Ime Udoka was content with swapping Reed Sheppard and Tari Smith in and out of the starting lineup on any given day. Even Josh Okogie started in 32 games. This team was very comfortable with instability last year, so why would that change? 

Unfortunately, this is exactly why I’d be surprised to see FVV coming off of the bench. He has the third highest salary on the team, so he’ll be starting and playing big minutes. If it’s too much for him, or if he has to rest in back-to-backs, then who cares, just throw someone else in the lineup. I’m certainly not a fan of this game-plan, but it is what I believe to be the most realistic outcome. 

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