“He’s a guy that may not play, but is ready to come in and impact the game,” Ime Udoka says of trusted Rockets veteran Aaron Holiday.
When veteran guard Aaron Holiday re-signed with the Rockets this offseason for the NBA’s minimum salary, the expectation was that he’d be further down Houston’s bench than he was during the previous two seasons. After all, the lack of available money was due to a deeper supporting cast.
Yet, not even a month into the 2025-26 regular season, the shifty 6-foot-0 guard is already back into the regular rotation for head coach Ime Udoka.
Relative to expectations prior to training camp, the Rockets are now without three rotation players due to long-term injuries: Fred VanVleet (right knee ACL tear), Dorian Finney-Smith (offseason ankle surgery), and Tari Eason (oblique strain). All are believed to be sidelined for at least a few weeks — and in the case of VanVleet, months.
So, after the five starters (Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Josh Okogie, and Jabari Smith Jr.) and top-two reserves (Steven Adams and Reed Sheppard), the next-in-line options for Udoka appear to be Holiday, big man Clint Capela, and forward Jae’Sean Tate.
In Sunday’s comeback victory over Orlando, which led to a tightened rotation, Holiday was the eighth and final player to play. Additional shooting and floor spacing were likely among Udoka’s reasons for picking Holiday over the other two options, as Houston ranks No. 1 in the NBA in 3-point accuracy but is last in attempts.
In theory, Holiday can help the Rockets maintain the former while boosting the latter — and to this point, it’s gone according to plan. While the sample is still small, Holiday is shooting 45.5% on 3-pointers this year, even better than his impressive 39.4% clip over two-plus seasons in Houston. And the 29-year-old remains a steady perimeter defender and ball-handler, too, which can help in the absence of VanVleet.
“I just go out and get the feel of the game,” Holiday said at Tuesday’s practice (interviews via Lachard Binkley). “I don’t feel like I’m just a scorer. Whatever they need me to do, I’ll do. Whether that’s play point guard, play off the ball, shoot spot-ups… that’s what I condition myself to do. So, when I play in the game, it’s not too hard.”
Not too hard?
Okogie seemed to think that his veteran teammate was being a bit modest in that assessment. Houston has a net rating of +10.8 in the limited minutes that Holiday has played this season, and that number is even a touch higher than the one for Eason (+9.3).
“It’s a hard thing to do to not play, then to have that kind of impact,” Okogie said. “I watch him prepare every day like he’s going to go in there and play 48 minutes. That’s the kind of mindset you have to have. He’s the ultimate professional. A (Aaron) is great.”
Even with injuries piling up, the Rockets (9-3) have one of the NBA’s best records and have won nine of their last 10 games, overall. Having capable reserves like Holiday, who can step in as needed, is a big reason why.
“Aaron has been a consummate pro, from day one,” Udoka said Tuesday. “He’s a guy that may not play, but is ready to come in and impact the game. When Tari gets hurt in that game or when he knows he’s playing a more expanded role, he’s been great. We give him his props after those games when he does that. He’s just a guy that you love to have on your team, for those reasons.”
With Holiday almost certainly in the rotation, the Rockets will look to continue their recent momentum when they face the Cavaliers (10-5) on Wednesday night. Tipoff from Cleveland is at 6:00 p.m. Central, and the matchup will be televised regionally on Space City Home Network and nationally via ESPN and NBA League Pass.
“I’m not Tari Eason, I have no pressure to do what he did,” Holiday said before boarding Houston’s flight to Cleveland. “I’m just trying to play my game the best I can and just fit with the guys. They’ve got a good thing going right now, so I’m just trying to help any way that I can.”
