Fred VanVleet's 3-Point Shooting Continues To Improve As Rockets' Season Goes On

When the Houston Rockets ended the 2022-23 season, they were ready to move on from the rebuilding phase. Gone were the days of being happy with player development alone. Rafael Stone and the Rockets organization wanted to see improvement in the win column.

The Rockets started the process by hiring Ime Udoka to lead the franchise. Houston moved quickly to bring in Udoka who was the number one coaching candidate at the time. They then changed their focus to free agency.

The Rockets wanted more veteran leadership on the team, so they decided to make Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet the main focus of their offseason. All the moves paid off as the Rockets went from the bottom of the league to a .500 team last season and are now a top-two team in the Western Conference.

Brooks has been a big part of the Rockets' success as the team's defensive anchor, but the team leader is unquestionably VanVleet. VanVleet isn't flashy or going to show up on highlight reels, but he is the steady leader the young Rockets have needed.

VanVleet had a solid 2023-24 and came into this season looking to lead Houston back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. To start the season, their were concerns from some because VanVleet had a slow start to the season offensively.

From the start of the season until the end of November, VanVleet shot only 32.4% from the 3-point line. Since then, VanVleet shooting from the arch has gone up to 36% and has been even better since the start of 2025.

Since the calendar flipped to 2025, VanVleet has been shooting 40.5 from downtown on over seven attempts per game. Since the start of the year, the Rockets are 8-3, and a big reason for that has been VanVleet's improved shooting.

When asked if he has done anything differently to improve his shot this season VanVleet said that he hasn't changed anything from what he has done his entire career.

“No not really just trusting the work staying consistent.”

The Rockets dont win last nights game without Fred VanVleet. With the Rockets fading down 6 VanVleet hit back to back 3s to tie the game.

Here VanVleet was asked if he has done anything different that has helped improve his shooting lately.

“No not really just trusting the… pic.twitter.com/Tr2MULTHuU
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) January 23, 2025

VanVleet had a career year last season in assist and helped the Rockets set a record for lowest number of turnovers in a season. This season VanVleet has taken a step back as the primary ball handler and his shooting is even more important this season.

With VanVleet turning 31 years old next month their will come a time where the Rockets will be looking for the next point guard to take over. That's the nature of the business but for the time being VanVleet is one of the most important players on the team.

VanVleet is the calming force on the court and the vocal leader off the court. For the Rockets to stay at the top of the standings, they will need VanVleet to continue to provide guidance to the younger players and lead them for the rest of the season.

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