LeBron James sends his prayers for Fred VanVleet after season-ending injury leaves Rockets without starting PG

The Houston Rockets suffered a massive setback ahead of the 2025-2026 NBA season as their starting point guard, Fred VanVleet, tore his ACL. With the unfortunate news, LA Lakers superstar LeBron James sent his prayers for VanVleet's speedy recovery.

During an episode of the Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash on Wednesday, James urged VanVleet to get healthy quickly, while underscoring how big a loss he was for the Rockets.

"My good guy Fred, man. That sucks," he said. "Speedy recovery, brother. Get back, man. Get healthy. Get back. That's going to be a tough blow for Houston." (From 24:40)

"Great. He's like a great teammate. Great player. He is like the engine to any team that he's on, you know. And obviously, we saw what he was able to do," James added.

According to reports, VanVleet picked up the injury in a team workout in the Bahamas. The injury is seen to put him out of the court for the entirety of the 2025-2026 season.

VanVleet had been the team's veteran stabilizer last season, when he averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game to help the Rockets finish the regular season as the second seed.

Before the injury, he was seen to be the team's anchor following the addition of Kevin Durant in the offseason.

Now, the Rockets are left with Reed Sheppard as their only viable point guard for the upcoming season, unless they sign a player before the opening night.

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Rockets head coach Ime Udoka addresses team's lack of a starting point guard

Without Fred VanVleet, the Rockets will have a gaping hole in their point guard position entering the new season. But for Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, he believes his other players will fill the gap as the season goes by.

In his interview with ESPN, Udoka mentioned the likes of Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson on who would carry the cudgels for the team's point guard role.

“I think it will be different guys kind of thrust into a role," Udoka said. "For instance, Reed (Sheppard), you take Amen (Thompson), guys that have done it some with Fred being out at times on a smaller stage We really leaned on (VanVleet) the first few years to be that experience, that IQ out there at the point guard spot.”

Durant and All-Star center Alperen Sengun are expected to be the team's top offensive options for next season.

The Rockets will open their season against the defending champions OKC Thunder, on Oct. 21.