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Fred VanVleet has revealed just how challenging the past year has been after missing the entire 2025-26 NBA season with a torn ACL and meniscus.

Speaking with Erik Horne of Andscape during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the Houston Rockets guard admitted the last “nine or 10 months” have tested both his patience and mental toughness.

The veteran particularly struggled with watching Houston’s playoff run from the sidelines after believing there was a chance he could return late in the season.

“(Missing) the playoffs was pretty hard,” VanVleet said. “I was about six months into that (rehab) time. I remember they told me I could come back in six months. I was feeling good some days. And then Game 1 or Game 2 (of the playoffs) and I was like, ‘Damn, I’m going to miss the whole (season). I’m not coming back.’ That was a tough time.”

VanVleet also reflected on how much he missed simply being able to compete.

“I’ll be very disappointed if I’m not playing in the preseason,” he said. “What I missed the most was the outlet, the exertion, the escape of whatever our lives are in our worlds. I took for granted a lot of things of what I do because I just have been doing it every day for my whole life.

“But the mental escape and the physical exertion of getting that energy out and wanting to bump people and cuss at referees, to have the highs and the lows and the failure and the success, I really just love every aspect of the game. So, to have that taken away from me was very humbling and eye-opening.”

Fred VanVleet Talks ACL Recovery, Optimism For 2026/27 https://t.co/oQRZrTARI8