Conversations around Amen Thompson have shifted from questioning his potential to marveling at his abilities. In a league dominated by offensive firepower, Amen has burst onto the scene as a breath of fresh air for us fans who believe defense is the best offense! In his sophomore season, Thompson has gone from strength to strength, establishing himself as one of the best young defenders in the NBA.

Standing at 6’7”, the fourth pick of the 2023 draft has been instrumental in the Houston Rockets‘ resurgence as a competitive force, who’ve now found themselves as the second seed in the Western Conference with a 23-12 record. As we see the 21-year-old’s journey unfolding, the question is no longer if Thompson will be a star, but how big of a star he will be in the upcoming future!

Amen Thompson- A shiny catalyst for the Rockets’ success

Thompson had already established himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league after finishing his rookie season with a 95 percentile in defensive EPM (A metric that determines a player’s defensive contribution in points per hundred possessions and only Tari Eason ranked higher on the Rockets) while averaging 6.6 rebounds, 9.5 points per game in his injury ridden rookie season.

This season, however, the young gun has taken that to a different level by restricting his opponents to just 37% from the field while also snatching 7.2 rebounds and 12.3 points per game, and shooting a nifty 55.8% from the field, via StatMamba on X. This remarkable leap as a player has undoubtedly helped the team from Houston get to the second seed in the Western Conference.

Coach Ime Udoka is particularly fond of Amen Thompson and his defensive acumen and always pushes him to improve. Rafael Stone, the General Manager of the Houston Rockets, shed more light on this, claiming that Udoka finds it hard to believe that someone can actually score against Amen. Right, that’s the expected standard from the youngster!

Stone told ESPN in December, “He’s not particularly happy when someone scores on Amen. In Ime’s world, that should be an impossibility and if it occurs, it’s because Amen did something wrong.” 

Initially intended to be used as a guard by coach Udoka because of his passing skills, Thompson soon found himself as the backup power forward of the team, as the Rockets made a push for a play-in spot late into the 2023-24 season. His athleticism and physicality meant he would often cause trouble to the elite offenses, thus cementing his name as a ‘top mention’ in only his rookie season!

With Jabari Smith out injured for a month, Amen Thompson is sure to start and the Rockets are 4-1 up with him as a starter this season. The Rockets youngster is averaging 16.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game with a shooting percentage of 58.6% as a starter. He marked his return from a suspension by scoring 16 rebounds and 23 points in a headliner win against the Lakers!

What next for Amen Thompson?

Victor Wembanyama was the most coveted prospect of the 2023 NBA draft. But, it’s safe to say that the Rockets’ front office will be delighted with their fourth pick. While many things have been said about Amen Thompson’s defensive acumen, the only chink in the armor is his shooting. It needs a lot of work if he truly wants to establish himself as one of the best players in the league.

He shot a forgettable 13.8% from deep last season, which is one of the reasons why he isn’t an outright starter, as playing both Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson in the frontcourt would mean going into a game with 2 incompetent shooters and floor spacing issues.

While his three-point shooting is a big concern, the biggest drawback to his game, according to me, is his ball handling. History has shown many top players who shot poorly from deep to be excellent offensive players (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Russell Westbrook, etc) as they were able to create space for themselves to run in and score points for the team. While certainly, Amen Thompson has the pace, power, and athleticism to run in and dunk, he lacks the necessary handles needed to create space for him.

Amen Thompson has already established himself as one of the most important pieces for Ime Udoka’s team. The scary part? There’s still enough room for him to grow as a player, and be ‘the’ name who spearheads Houston’s anticipated glory run after James Harden.