Fred VanVleet's return, and what it does to Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson
VanVleet made five threes and seven assists in 24 minutes in his first game back from a torn ACL, and his return is likely to push Reed Sheppard into a sixth-man role in Houston.
By James · 2 min read
Fred VanVleetReed SheppardAmen ThompsonPhotos: NBAMembersFred VanVleet missed all of 2025-26 after tearing his ACL, and his first game back, Houston's 135-117 preseason win over Dallas in Macao, went about as well as it could. He played 24 minutes, took twelve shots, all of them threes, and made five for 17 points, with seven assists and two steals, as Mike Barner's preseason notes for Yahoo Sports and Roundtable's game coverage both reported. He told theScore afterward that he felt like a rookie again.
- Fred VanVleet HOU121stvs 106th
- Reed Sheppard HOU124thvs 139th
- Amen Thompson HOU20thvs 28th
While VanVleet was out, Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard handled the point guard duties, and RotoWire suggests Sheppard may move to a sixth-man role now that VanVleet is back. That makes this a story about three players rather than one: how much of the ball VanVleet takes back, how much Sheppard loses, and whether any of it touches Thompson, who is the most valuable of the three.
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Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
