The Houston Rockets will begin their 2026-27 season with this weekend’s preseason games in China.
Friday’s opener versus the Dallas Mavericks tips off at 7:00 a.m. Central from Macao, while Sunday’s rematch tips at 5:00 a.m. Central. Both will be televised to national and international audiences via NBA TV.
On both sides, arguably the biggest storyline is the return of an accomplished veteran guard who missed all of the 2025-26 season while rehabbing an ACL tear in his knee.
For Dallas, that player is Kyrie Irving. For Houston, it’s Fred VanVleet.
At training camp in Houston, I asked VanVleet if playing in an actual NBA game would represent a symbolic moment in his recovery. The 32-year-old responded:
There is no ‘I’m back’ moment. The ‘I’m back’ moment is I’m healthy
and I’m playing basketball. The regular season will be a process. There will be some good, and I’m sure there will be some bad. But I don’t want every game and every moment to be a measuring stick of where I am in my health.
It’s a long year, and I want to be at my best at the end of the season.
“There is no ‘I’m back’ moment,” said Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet when asked about his return to the lineup after missing the entire 2025 season due to injury. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/62GlJAKns3
— BIG SARGE MEDIA LLC (@BigSargeSportz) September 24, 2026
Both VanVleet and Irving are expected to play in only one of this weekend’s two games. Considering that it’s the preseason and that neither player has played in an NBA game since May 2025 and March 2025, respectively, immediately playing two exhibitions in a span of just over 48 hours would be aggressive.
For similar reasons, VanVleet likely won’t play in both ends of back-to-backs — at least at the start of the season.
Given that long recovery process, it’s understandable that VanVleet won’t want any particular game -— and especially an exhibition — to serve as a referendum. For Houston, which has a clear goal of advancing in the 2027 playoffs, the bigger-picture objective is to have the best version of VanVleet available by next spring.
But that journey has to start somewhere, and this weekend’s appearance in China will be VanVleet’s first NBA game action in more than 17 months. On some level, it is a milestone, even if the veteran floor general prefers a different framing.
“Considering that 12 months ago I wasn’t able to walk at this point in the year, I’d say I’m doing pretty good right now,” VanVleet said at Houston’s recent media day. “I’ve been progressing nicely. I feel really good.”
This season, VanVleet projects to start at point guard alongside Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun. During his two previous Houston seasons (2023-24 and 2024-25), VanVleet averaged 15.9 points (36.9% on 3-pointers), 6.9 assists, and only 1.6 turnovers per game, and he graded out very favorably in advanced metrics.
Beyond individual statistics and metrics, VanVleet also draws consistent praise from Udoka and his teammates for the importance of his leadership and communication skills, both on offense and defense. That’s something that should be an immediate benefit to the Rockets, even if it takes additional time to knock off any rust and physically get back up to speed after such a long layoff.
“Fred is a prototypical point guard that takes whatever the game gives him,” said head coach Ime Udoka. “He can score the ball, he can shoot, and he’s been great in camp so far. But, you can see that he also calms everybody down and gets them into their spots. He’s done that at a high level for his whole career, and he’s one of the few left (in the league) that does that. He really sets the table.”
“Fred (VanVleet) is a prototypical point guard that takes what the defense gives him,” said Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/aSPXVgDHba
— BIG SARGE MEDIA LLC (@BigSargeSportz) October 5, 2026
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Fred VanVleet ready for NBA return as Rockets open preseason in China
