Ime Udoka clears Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams to open the season without minutes limits
WhyNBA Sports Desk · Oct 18, 2026
The story
Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka said on Sunday, October 18, that Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams will open the regular season without any cap on their minutes, three days before Houston hosts the Dallas Mavericks.
The story
It is the clearest sign yet that the two veterans are past the long rehabs that wrecked the Rockets' 2025-26 plans. Udoka did add one caveat, first reported by reports: the club intends to "be smart" with both players on back-to-back nights in the opening weeks.
A year lost for VanVleet
VanVleet has not played a regular-season game since the spring of 2025. He tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee during a workout in September 2025, weeks before last season began, and did not appear at all in 2025-26.
A year lost for VanVleet
He was fully cleared before camp and spent the exhibition schedule back in his old role, starting next to Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun.
A year lost for VanVleet
When camp opened, Udoka had said any restriction would depend on how the guard handled the preseason. Sunday's answer suggests the staff liked what it saw.
A year lost for VanVleet
VanVleet summed up the stakes in a late-September interview with USA Today, saying the roster "was constructed to have me and Steven on the floor."
Adams back from ankle surgery
Adams' season ended in January, when a Grade 3 sprain of his left ankle required surgery.
Adams back from ankle surgery
Before the injury he had given Houston 32 games, 11 of them starts, averaging 5.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in 22.8 minutes, with his offensive rebounding and screening a big part of the second unit's identity.
Adams back from ankle surgery
He is expected to back up Sengun at center. As late as September 25 he still had final return-to-play tests ahead of him, so being cleared without limits is a meaningful step.
What it means for the rotation
Houston went out in the first round of the 2026 playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, and the front office answered by adding Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic to a core that already included Durant, Sengun and Thompson.
What it means for the rotation
With VanVleet and Adams available from day one, Udoka has a deeper guard group and a true backup big, and Thompson can move between ballhandling and wing duties instead of carrying the point full time.
What it means for the rotation
The back-to-back caution matters less right away. The Rockets' first two games are two days apart, so neither player should need to sit for rest in the opening week. Our injury report page tracks every designation as the season begins.
What comes next
The Rockets host the Mavericks at Toyota Center on Wednesday, October 21, at 8:30 p.m. ET (Game Center), then visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, October 23, at 9:30 p.m. ET (Game Center).
Photo credit
Fred VanVleet in 2018. File photo: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0. {"source":"Wikimedia Commons","file":"File:Bradley Beal, Fred VanVleet (40543944482).jpg","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bradley_Beal,_Fred_VanVleet_(40543944482).jpg","license":"CC BY-SA 2.0","license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0","author":"Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA","retrieved_at":"2026-10-19T02:03:36+00:00"}
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