The Western Conference Finals are raging on between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. Houston Rockets fans watch on, their team eliminated two rounds earlier. It’s not surprising, as the Rockets struggled with their situation at point guard all season long. But there were opportunities for the Rockets’ point guard situation to be improved. It’s hard not to think about them when they’re showcased by the two Western Conference teams still standing.
How Spurs and Thunder Showcase Rockets’ Point Guard Blunders
NBA legend and Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul was a free agent last offseason. At 40 years old (now 41), he was far from the player he once was. Indeed, the 2025-26 season was expected to be something of a retirement tour for him. As one of Paul’s former teams, and taking into account the Rockets’ point guard situation, Houston seemed like an ideal destination.
Eventually, though, he signed with another former team, the Los Angeles Clippers. But Paul wound up being axed from his own retirement tour for being too loud a voice in the locker room and trying to hold his teammates accountable. Essentially, while no longer a dominant force on the court, Paul was still trying to do everything in his power to help his team win games.
Paul’s aggressive demeanor may not have jived well with a veteran team like the Clippers. With a young team like the Rockets, that kind of voice and knowledge in the locker room could have been invaluable. It’s not hard to imagine either, since we’ve actually seen it before. We’ve seen it with both teams currently battling out the Western Conference Finals, no less.
Former Rockets Point Guard Turned Tutor
Chris Paul’s stint with OKC was back in 2019-20. Paul had already left his prime, but was still a highly productive player on the court. In fact, it was a bounce-back season after his disappointing second year with the Rockets. Paul led the Thunder to the playoffs, where they lost a scrappy seven-game series to the Rockets. Crucially, though, it was a season-long point guard masterclass for future OKC superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA just won his second straight MVP award and may not be waiting long to receive a second straight Finals MVP award as well.
Of course, the Rockets don’t have a player as talented as SGA on their roster (besides a 37-year-old Kevin Durant). But they do have promising young guards in Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard. Alongside point center Alperen Sengun, they held down the Rockets’ point guard position this season. It was a bumpy ride, but undoubtedly a good experience for their long-term development. Both saw significant improvements as ball handlers from 2024-25. Still, a season of tutelage from a likely top-five point guard of all time could have helped their development even more.
Paul’s shown he can have a positive influence on players below SGA’s caliber already. The most recent example is OKC’s current Western Conference Finals opponent, Stephon Castle. Paul was with the Spurs for the 2024-25 season, when Castle was a rookie. Now the young guard is averaging 18.7 points and 8.7 assists through the first three games of the Western Conference Finals. Castle has praised the leadership and knowledge Paul was able to provide during their time together.
The Other Rockets Point Guard Opportunity in San Antonio
Of course, drafting Castle instead of Sheppard was a missed opportunity in itself for Houston. But San Antonio actually showcases yet another missed opportunity for the Rockets. The Spurs are also fielding one-time possible Rockets point guard De’Aaron Fox. The Rockets could have traded for Fox in 2024-25 when he was forcing his way off the Sacramento Kings. Instead, they let the Spurs snag him for picks. This one, Rockets fans may feel more mixed about.
While Fox was an All-Star in 2025-26, he averaged just 18.6 points and 6.2 assists per game on 33.2% from 3-point range. In the playoffs so far, he’s averaging 18.5 points and 5.8 assists on 32.8% from deep. In the Western Conference Finals, Fox has only played in Game 3, though he is thought to be available for Game 4 Sunday night.
Fox is a solid ball handler who creates opportunities with his rim pressure and keeps the offense on track. That’s more than what the Rockets have. The Spurs didn’t give up anything too crazy to get him either. Even so, acquiring Fox would have been a far greater commitment than a season of Paul as a mostly locker-room drill sergeant. Fox himself was also pushing hard for San Antonio and a partnership with phenom Victor Wembanyama in particular.
Ultimately, it seems that the Rockets’ point guard situation will remain problematic going into next season. They’ll hope to have former starting point guard Fred VanVleet back and fully healthy after missing this season with a torn ACL. Whether he’ll be the same player he was remains to be seen. Whether a team can seriously contend with even the best version of VanVleet as its lead ball-handler is another reasonable question. But the front office doesn’t seem interested in making major changes this offseason.
As far as missed opportunities are concerned, at this point, Rockets fans are on guard for the worst.
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