Heading into 2026, the Houston Rockets are set to back veterans Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet who are returning from injury and hope to make a key impact moving forward.
The Houston Rockets head into the 2026 season hoping to be much healthier for the entirety of the season, in large part due to veterans Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet returning from key injuries.
Adams and VanVleet both missed a majority of last season as VanVleet tore his right ACL and meniscus while Adams was dealing with a Grade 3 left ankle sprain which forced him to get surgery.
With both Adams and VanVleet hoping to get back it seems the Rockets should be getting some solid depth in the backcourt and the frontcourt.
On that note, NBA Insiders recently put together a list of the biggest players returning from injuries in the NBA. On that list, VanVleet was listed in the back in action category, while Adams was placed in the looking past setbacks category.
Starting with VanVleet, NBA Insider Michael C. Wright mentioned that VanVleet stated he was back on the court 'full time' in July and should be on the court when the Rockets start the season in October when they travel to Macao China for the preseason.
For Houston, this is not anything new, but just confirming that VanVleet will be out there is great for this team. In the postseason last year, the absence of VanVleet was felt especially after star forward Kevin Durant went down, because at that point there was no one experienced enough to run the offense effectively.
While that was not an ideal place to be for Houston, Wright did add that it did present great opportunities for guards Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to develop on the offensive end, which should help the Rockets overall in 2026.
Overall, the return of VanVleet is a great thing, and if he is a full-go, he should be able to distribute the ball well and help this Houston offense flow much better than it did in 2025.
Now looking at Adams, he said back in August that "we're trending that way" when talking about if he will be ready to start the season.
For the Rockets' frontcourt, it would be huge if Adams is able to play to start the season because he provides such a solid presence on the interior for Houston on both ends of the floor, especially when it comes to rebounding.
Speaking of Adams' rebounding, Wright pointed to the fact that during Adams' first year with the Rockets (2024-2025), he was able to lead Houston to be the No. 1 team in the NBA when it comes to offensive rebounding, and they were actually able to maintain that spot despite Adams only playing part of the season.
Clearly, Adams has a great ability to help Houston on the offensive glass, but also has the frame (6-11 and 265 pounds) and the strength to be solid on the defensive end as well, with his ability to box out and alter shots at the rim. Additionally, Adams' size has enabled him to be one of the better screen setters in the NBA, which helps to open up the Rockets' shooters a lot.
Adams also brings great leadership for this team that is fairly young which should help the Rockets deep into the season.
So, if Adams can stay healthy and provide a solid presence on the interior for the Rockets on both ends of the floor, this team could very well have one of the better center rotations in the entire NBA between Adams and young star Alperen Sengun.
As the Rockets head into the 2026 season, if VanVleet and Adams are ready to play and can start the season healthy, this team gets some great depth and ability on both ends of the floor, which could raise Houston's ceiling and help this team compete for a top-three seed in the Western Conference.
