On Tuesday evening, the Houston Rockets will officially kick off the 2025-26 NBA season, taking on the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a ring night matchup.
Oklahoma City’s championship banner will be hoisted in front of Kevin Durant and co., who enter this year’s regular season as one of the top contenders in the NBA. The Rockets were one of just four teams who will be debuting on Opening Night, with the Lakers and Warriors facing off in the later bout.
With the team’s opener being Tuesday, its first injury report of the season dropped at 5:30 p.m. CT on Monday, and it has a few notable players on it worth diving into:
Fred VanVleet — Out: ACL Repair
Jae’Sean Tate — Out: Right ankle surgery
Dorian Finney-Smith — Out: Left ankle surgery
Isaiah Crawford — Questionable: Left ankle sprain
Isaiah Joe — Out: Left knee contusion
Thomas Sorber — Out: Right ACL
Nikola Topic — Out: Surgical recovery
Jalen Wiliams — Out: Right wrist
Kenrich Williams — Out: Left knee
The first and most notable addition will be a name fans will unfortunately get used to seeing on the injury report: guard Fred VanVleet.
The loss of VanVleet is a substantial one for Houston, given he was set to be the lead handler and play-maker for a team that has a lack of those things outside of him. He suffered a torn ACL in an offseason workout, and is likely to be out for the entirety of the team’s 2025-26 campaign.
Now, the Rockets look fill the offensive and defensive void left in VanVleet’s wake. They should have ample defensive weapons in Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr. and more, but replicating VanVleet’s veteran presence with the ball in-hand will be a tall task.
Dorian Finney-Smith is another name the Rockets need off the injury report sooner rather than later, given the recently-signed veteran should provide a defensive and shooting presence the team needs, be it in the starting lineup or off the bench.
The Thunder, too, are dealing with injuries. One-time All-Star Jalen Williams won’t be ready for Opening Night after injuring his wrist in last year’s postseason, and contributors in Kenrich Williams and Isaiah Joe are out due to various injuries as well. The team’s rookies in Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorber will miss the bout as well.
The Rockets and Thunder tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT from Oklahoma City tomorrow night.
