Wichita State Professional Athletes

Fred VanVleet Is Back — And He Didn't Need a Warmup

After 523 days away from an NBA court, Fred VanVleet looked like he'd never left.

The Wichita State product made his long-awaited return in Houston's preseason opener against Dallas — an NBA China Game in Macao — and announced himself immediately, drilling back-to-back three-pointers in the opening minutes. The 32-year-old point guard, who missed the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL, looked comfortable from the jump, offering the Rockets a glimpse of exactly what their offense had been missing.

Houston's absence of VanVleet last season was felt deeply. The Rockets still managed a playoff berth, but were eliminated in the first round — by a Luka Dončić-less Lakers squad — with their point guard situation a persistent weak point. Rockets GM Rafael Stone has made clear that VanVleet's healthy return is central to the franchise's 2026-27 ambitions, calling it a significant step alongside a core that includes All-Star Alperen Sengun and newly acquired Kevin Durant. Yahoo Sports' preseason preview called VanVleet simply "Houston's leader" — and last week's debut did nothing to undercut that billing.

VanVleet's return also quieted some of the noise surrounding his roster future. Trade speculation had surfaced during the offseason, with at least one proposal floating his name in a deal to bring in a proven NBA champion. For now, he appears squarely in Houston's plans heading into the regular season.

Craig Porter Jr. Makes Cleveland Pay Attention

VanVleet wasn't the only Shocker turning heads this week. In Cleveland, Craig Porter Jr. opened the Cavaliers' preseason with a performance that Sports Illustrated described as a "compelling case to change the rotation."

The undrafted veteran point guard — another product of Wichita State — has long been a long-shot roster story in Cleveland, but his preseason showing suggested he's more than a camp filler. The Cavaliers, coming off a strong 2025-26 campaign, have depth at guard, which makes any rotation shake-up a meaningful statement about Porter's development.

The Shocker Pipeline Holds

It's a quietly productive moment for Wichita State's NBA footprint. VanVleet remains the program's marquee name — a starter on a contending roster, back from the kind of injury that ends careers — and Porter Jr. is carving out his own story two time zones away. Landry Shamet is with the Knicks, Tyson Etienne is on the Nets' roster, and Dexter Dennis remains with Dallas, giving the Shockers five active NBA alumni entering the 2026-27 season.

The headliner, though, is VanVleet. Back-to-back threes in your first NBA minutes in a year and a half? The guy didn't need 523 days. He needed about 40 seconds.

Wichita State's NBA alumni class doesn't have the depth of a blue blood, but right now it has something better: two compelling stories at opposite ends of the offseason spectrum. Fred VanVleet is grinding his way back from injury and into an uncertain starting role, while Landry Shamet is savoring something he's never had before — real stability.

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VanVleet's Comeback Gets Complicated

When the Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant ahead of the 2025-26 season, the blueprint looked obvious: let VanVleet quarterback the offense, fill Durant in on a star-caliber roster, and watch a contender crystallize. Then VanVleet got hurt before the season even tipped off. The partnership never happened.

Now, heading into 2026-27 training camp, VanVleet is healthy — but his starting spot isn't guaranteed. According to ClutchPoints, he's among the Rockets players in genuine danger of losing their starting job as camp opens, a remarkable situation for a player who was supposed to be a cornerstone of the Durant era in Houston.

VanVleet, for his part, isn't shying away from the awkwardness of the moment. He gave an honest public take on the prospect of finally teaming with Durant after a full season apart, acknowledging the unique challenge of building chemistry with a generational scorer he's never shared a regular-season court with. The partnership still carries enormous upside — but VanVleet will have to earn his place in it all over again.

For a player who bet on himself by signing a three-year deal with Houston, that's a significant pivot. The former Shocker floor general built his reputation on clutch reliability. Now he needs to prove he still has it.

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Shamet Finds a Home in New York

The contrast with Landry Shamet's situation could hardly be sharper. After years of bouncing between teams — the 76ers, Clippers, Nets, Suns, Lakers — Shamet is a New York Knick, and more importantly, he's staying one.

The Knicks capped off an NBA championship this past season and then moved quickly to keep their role players intact. Shamet was re-signed as part of that effort, joining Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado among the key depth pieces brought back to defend the title. But for Shamet, the deal meant something beyond dollars: it was clarity, a word he used himself in describing the moment.

"Proud" was another. Shamet told Yahoo Sports that he'd never had this kind of luxury before — knowing where he was going to be, knowing he had earned his spot on a championship team. For a player whose career has largely been defined by uncertainty and role ambiguity, landing on a Finals winner and then being explicitly wanted back is a meaningful arrival.

The Knicks' core is intact. Karl-Anthony Towns has been engaged in ongoing contract discussions, and the front office is navigating second-apron considerations, but the vision for the defending champions remains largely the same. Shamet figures into that vision as a shooting specialist and veteran guard off the bench — a role that finally fits cleanly.

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Two Shockers, two very different offseasons. VanVleet is fighting to reclaim what injuries cost him. Shamet is simply, finally, exhaling. Both storylines will be worth tracking when 2026-27 tips off.

After a full season lost to a torn ACL, Fred VanVleet is back on the court — and the Houston Rockets are making no secret of their ambitions heading into 2026-27.

The Wichita State product was cleared for full 5-on-5 contact at Rockets training camp this week, a significant milestone for a player who missed the entire 2025-26 campaign before it even started. There's one notable caveat attached to his return: VanVleet won't play back-to-backs early in the season as Houston manages his workload carefully. But the image of him back in a Rockets practice jersey — running sets, competing live — is the kind of thing that shifts a franchise's ceiling.

Coach Ime Udoka wasn't shy about it at media day, declaring the Rockets will "make some real noise" this season. Chris Mannix and Evan Turner reacted to those comments and discussed how much VanVleet can help balance out Houston's roster — and Yahoo Sports' season preview has echoed the sentiment: VanVleet's return is the variable that could flip Houston from first-round casualty — they were bounced by the Lakers last spring — to a genuine Western Conference threat.

The Point Guard Is Ready. So Is His Supporting Cast.

VanVleet's comeback doesn't exist in a vacuum. Marcus Smart, another veteran point guard with Texas roots, signed with Houston this offseason, citing his relationship with Udoka and the chance to reunite with familiar faces including VanVleet and Steven Adams. The addition gives the Rockets real backcourt depth and the kind of defensive versatility that makes a playoff rotation dangerous.

Meanwhile, Kevin Durant — entering his 20th NBA season — is healthy, motivated, and publicly resistant to any talk of a reduced workload. VanVleet himself addressed Durant's role directly, making a bold statement about how the future Hall of Famer fits into Houston's offensive structure. Jabari Smith Jr., coming off his best professional season, is another name to watch; multiple reports have noted that VanVleet's playmaking could unlock another level for the 23-year-old big.

The Rest of the Shocker Diaspora

Elsewhere in the league, Wichita State's other NBA representatives are navigating their own pivotal moments. In New York, Landry Shamet has become enough of a Knicks fixture that Sports Illustrated is using his trajectory as the benchmark for new Exhibit 9 signees — asking which newcomer could be "the next Landry Shamet." It's a quiet form of respect for a player who has carved out a durable NBA role.

In Cleveland, Craig Porter Jr. heads into the season facing pointed questions about whether he can hold down the backup point guard job the Cavaliers need. Yahoo Sports flagged him as a player running short on opportunities to make that case definitively. Training camp will be his audition.

The headliner, though, remains VanVleet. A torn ACL, a lost season, a franchise that stumbled without him — and now a training camp where he's back, cleared, and apparently locked in. For Shocker fans, it's the kind of story that was always going to have a second chapter. The question now is how far it goes.

Two Wichita State alumni are entering the 2026-27 NBA season at very different crossroads — one riding the high of a championship, the other trying to reclaim his career. Both storylines are worth watching.

Shamet's Preseason Is a Proving Ground

Landry Shamet isn't just coming off a good season — he's coming off a title. The Knicks' championship run last year was fueled in part by contributions from Shamet, a pre-training camp signing who turned a quiet roster addition into something meaningful. Now, the question facing the Wichita State product heading into preseason isn't whether he belongs on an NBA roster — it's whether last year was a ceiling or a floor.

According to Sports Illustrated, Shamet's upcoming preseason carries significant weight in determining whether his breakout was sustainable or situational. The Knicks, for their part, are already staging another training camp competition for the final roster spot — CBS Sports noting that last year's version of that battle helped deliver them a championship. Shamet is the proof of concept. The pressure, however subtle, is real.

For Wichita State fans, the stakes are easy to understand: Shamet is no longer an afterthought signing — he's a defending champion trying to hold his ground on a team that will have high expectations from day one.

VanVleet's Return Has Houston Buzzing

Fred VanVleet's 2025-26 season never happened. A torn ACL wiped out the entire campaign, leaving the Rockets to piece things together without one of their most experienced floor generals. Houston leaned heavily on Amen Thompson, who responded with career-best numbers — 18.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game — but the Rockets were still ousted in the first round, with one anonymous scout telling Sports Illustrated the team was "way too reliant" on Kevin Durant.

VanVleet's return is expected to change that calculus. Head coach Ime Udoka told reporters that VanVleet is doing "great" in his recovery process ahead of training camp, per Heavy Sports — an encouraging signal that the Rockets' veteran point guard could be close to full strength when the season tips off. The expectation is that his playmaking will redistribute offensive responsibility and ease Durant's burden as the primary initiator.

For a Rockets squad trying to take a step forward in the Western Conference, a healthy VanVleet isn't just a nice storyline — he's a structural necessity. The Wichita State product spent his lost season watching from the sideline while his team figured out how to survive without him. Now he gets a chance to show what they've been missing.

The Shockers' NBA Footprint

Beyond the two headliners, Wichita State has additional alumni on NBA rosters — Tyson Etienne with the Nets, Craig Porter Jr. with the Cavaliers, and Dexter Dennis with the Mavericks — though none entered the week generating comparable headlines. The Shamet-VanVleet pairing remains the program's most prominent NBA presence, and both are positioned to make news once training camps get underway in earnest.

It's a good week to be a Shocker fan watching the league.