No regrets: Fred VanVleet empowered by leadership role with resurgent Rockets

“I just felt empowered and honored that I was the guy who was thought of to help lead this ship in the right direction,” Fred VanVleet says of his first Rockets season.

After spending his first seven years in the NBA with the Raptors, guard Fred VanVleet decided it was time for a change. He knew he was an asset to the team, having worked his way from a role player to an NBA All-Star during his tenure in Toronto.

The Raptors’ organization wanted him to be an intricate part of helping lead them back to success, as he had done as a reserve player when the Raptors won the NBA Finals in 2019.

Yet, the former undrafted player out of Wichita State declined his $22.8-million player option for the 2023-24 season and tested the free agent market in the 2023 offseason. He was not on the market for long. The Rockets made him the highest-paid undrafted player in the NBA history with a three-year, $130-million contract.

When paired with newly hired head coach Ime Udoka, whom VanVleet respected after competing versus the Boston Celtics when Udoka led them to the 2022 NBA Finals, VanVleet knew Houston was serious about turning things around after three tumultuous years resulting in an average win total of under 20 per season.

“From Day 1,” VanVleet said when asked when he knew he had made the right decision to join the Rockets.

“Talking to coach (Udoka), brainstorming and putting our minds together on what we wanted this thing to be and what we wanted it to look like, I just felt empowered and honored that I was the guy who was thought of to help lead this ship in the right direction.”

His floor leadership proved valuable to young players Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr.. He helped lead the Rockets to a non-losing season (41-41) for the first time in four years. Even though Houston missed its goal of advancing to the postseason, VanVleet is happy about the progress made on and off the court.

“We fell short of our goal; I want to make that clear,” VanVleet said during his exit interview after Sunday’s win over the Clippers in Los Angeles. As a veteran, VanVleet was held out of Houston’s final two games after pouring in a combined 79 points on elite efficiency during the two previous games (at Utah and home versus Orlando).

“We had the playoffs in our sight, and we fell short of that, but we made tremendous progress,” he said. “Especially if you are going to go back to where things were the past few years. To be able to come and turn this thing around or get it going in the right direction, it has been a great accomplishment so far, but not where we want to be.”

VanVleet had a career season, dishing 8.1 assists per game to rank No. 7 in the NBA in that category. In 24 of his 73 starts, VanVleet finished with 10 or more assists, including a season-high total of 17.

Another key attribute was VanVleet’s inability to turn over the ball, which the Rockets struggled with before his arrival. His 1.73 turnovers per game was the lowest he has had as a starter.

“He has been a very vital piece to us putting this thing together for the future,” Udoka said of VanVleet. “We just have to keep moving in the right direction, if we want to take that next step.”

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