We are officially in the “dog days of summer,” as the saying goes, as the NBA takes a back seat to Major League Baseball and, soon, the NFL, while the NBA offseason slowly churns along.
We are likely getting a schedule release next week, as news has leaked that the NBA will release every team’s full schedule. Of course, we usually find out who will play on important dates like opening night, Christmas Day games, and a few other dates ahead of time.
As of right now, we dont know a lot about what is going to happen next season, but one thing the Houston Rockets organization and fans do know is that Fred VanVleet, the Rockets’ on- and off-court leader, will be ready for training camp.
VanVleet has talked during the offseason about being ready for training camp, which should take place the first week in October, a welcome sight for the Rockets after VanVleet missed the entire 2025-26 season.
The void VanVleet’s absence caused was felt all last season, as the Rockets struggled to get into their offensive sets and especially in late-game situations. It was no more evident than the Rockets’ first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, as the Rockets gave away at least a couple of games due to their lack of a floor general.
With the return of VanVleet, it not only lets players play more of their natural positions; it also gives the Rockets another leader on the court. The question now is who benefits the most from VanVleet’s return?
Which of Fred VanVleet’s teammates benefits the most from his return?
First off, when it comes to the return of VanVleet, every player and coach will benefit from having the veteran point guard back on the court. There is one player, however, who benefits the most: Alperen Sengun.
Why Sengun will see the biggest impact of having VanVleet back
When VanVleet went down before the start of the 2025-26 season, the Rockets tried everyone from Reed Sheppard to Amen Thompson and, at times, even Kevin Durant as the lead guard who had to organize the offense and try to get everyone on the same page.
Sometimes the results were good, but a alot of the time the team felt disjointed, with no real point guard on the court. However, no one player had more responsibility as the team’s playmaker than Sengun.
Even before VanVleet joined the Rockets, Sengun had been one of the Rockets’ best passers. He came into the NBA with the nickname “Baby Jokic” because he had a high basketball IQ and had already demonstrated advanced passing skills.
When VanVleet joined the Rockets, he took some of that pressure off Sengun, as he became the player who made sure everyone was in the right spots and set up the Rockets’ offense.
VanVleet was also the Rockets’ best pick-and-roll guard and the best entry passer. Both of those attributes will help Sengun, as the Rockets struggled last season with turnovers and, at times, with getting a decent entry pass to Sengun.
That meant a lot of the time Sengun was at the top of the key, having to play point guard while also getting his own points. That is a lot for a point guard, let alone your starting center.
At times last season, Sengun would have to try to score from 25 feet out as he had to set up the offense, other times be the Rockets’ rebounder, and on other occasions be the Rockets’ main low-post threat. Yes Sengun saw most of his offensive numbers go up from point per game to assist in VanVleet’s abscence but the constant stress of having to take on a lot of the offensive burden wore down Sengun by the end of the season.
Now that VanVleet is back, he can focus more on being a scorer and a rebounder and not have to run the offense all game long. As mentioned earlier, everyone will benefit from VanVleet’s return from Ime Udoka, who has his coach on the floor back to the end of the bench. Still, no player will be happier to have their floor general back than Alperen Sengun.
