Inside The Rockets

Rockets PG Fred VanVleet Among Most Underrated Players

Fred VanVleet is one of the best players for the Houston Rockets, but he doesn't always get praised.

Jeremy Brener

Apr 11, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) dribbles past Utah Jazz forward Luka Samanic (19) during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) dribbles past Utah Jazz forward Luka Samanic (19) during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
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Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet is the highest-paid player on the team, but he doesn't always get recognized for being one of the better players in the organization.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes listed VanVleet as the most underrated player from the past five years.

"It's hard to know what to do with 2019-20, when VanVleet's Raptors were actually 2.3 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor. But the fact that his worst differential across the last four seasons was a plus-5.9 suggests we can write off that lone season, in which he registered the only negative number of his career, as an outlier," Hughes writes. "VanVleet got an All-Star nod in 2021-22, but he's produced roughly similar numbers in each of the five seasons we're studying. If there were an All Half-Decade team, the individual stats and team-focused figures say he'd have a legitimate case to be on it."

VanVleet, 30, averaged 17.4 points and a career-high 8.1 assists per game in his first season with the Rockets, and going into Year 2, he's expected to continue playing a key role in setting up his teammates for success.

If he can do just that, the Rockets could be making their first postseason appearance since the 2020 COVID bubble in Orlando.

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Jeremy Brener

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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