Why Fred VanVleet Will Have a Bounce-Back Season from 3-Point Range

The Houston Rockets, for the first time since James Harden's prime with the Rockets, will be considered one of the championship contenders once the 2025-26 season starts. After three rebuilding seasons and two competitive seasons, the Rockets went all in on taking the next step this offseason by acquiring future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade.

The Rockets wanted to bring in Durant as the reliable closer the team didn't have in their first playoff series in five years. Durant is one of the best offensive players in NBA history, and even at age 36, the Rockets felt they could not pass up the chance to bring him to Houston.

Durant, first-time All-Star Alperen Sengun and rising star Amen Thompson will be the players most closely watched by fans and the opposing team. Another player who may not receive as much attention but will be a significant factor in the Rockets' quest for a title is Fred VanVleet.

VanVleet is entering his third season with the Rockets after signing a new two-year deal that will keep him beyond his original three-year contract. In VanVleet's first season, he averaged a career high in assists and shot 38.7 percent from downtown. It was one of the best seasons in VanVleet's career.

VanVleet also played 36.8 minutes, which was the second most of his career, and he was in control of the offense on most trips down the court. The Rockets wanted to lessen VanVleet and have Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green take on more of the offensive load.

VanVleet would go on to take fewer shots, play fewer minutes, and average his lowest points per game since the 2018-19 season. Another notable development for VanVleet last season was a decline in his 3-point shooting percentage. Last season, VanVleet shot only 35.4 percent from 3-point range, which was one of his worst seasons in his career.

Even though Green, who took on more of the ball-handling duties last season, is now in Phoenix, VanVleet will not go back to his workload from his first season with the team. That is because, even though Durant is not a guard, he is still a player through whom you can run the offense and have everyone play off of him. Durant's gravity and passing skills will make VanVleet's job even easier this season.

Some of VanVleet's foul shooting was just because of a down year for him, but a good amount of his misses were also because the Rockets did not have anyone else willing or able to score late in the shot clock, which led to shot clock beating bombs by VanVleet, which tanked his 3-point shooting.

Now, with a player like Durant, who can score over anyone in the NBA, on the team, he will more than likely take on the burden of taking the shot when the clock is running down or the offense breaks down. Another reason for a possible improvement for VanVleet is that he has been a good 3-point shooter for most of his career.

VanVleet is a 37.1 percent 3-point shooter, which means he has been an above-average shooter from beyond the arc for most of his career. With even fewer responsibilities and playing along with one of the best offensive players in the NBA, VanVleet should have one of his best shooting seasons of his career.