The path to championship contention was right in front of the Houston Rockets after landing Kevin Durant in the offseason. However, a torn ACL to veteran guard Fred VanVleet puts a major dent in their aspirations to reach the mountaintop.

Houston was coming off its best season since moving on from the James Harden era. After missing the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, the squad finally returned in 2025 thanks to the remarkable coaching of Ime Udoka, who joined prior to the 2023-24 campaign.

They centered their talent around the likes of VanVleet, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, and Amen Thompson among others. It proved to be a success in the regular season, winning 52 games as they secured the second seed in the Western Conference.

However, their momentum came to a halt when S

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