Amen Thompson doesn’t need a jump shot to be an NBA star for Rockets

Amen Thompson is becoming a star on his own terms for the Rockets.

It wasn’t hard to come up with a list of reasons for why Amen Thompson could bust in the NBA when he entered the 2023 draft. Amen and his twin brother Ausar took a novel path to the draft by bypassing college basketball for the upstart Overtime Elite league, where they played against younger and inferior competition that muddied their statistical projection. Neither of the twins could shoot, but Amen’s jumper looked especially weak. Amen was supposed to be a point guard, but he refused to take a pull-up jumper and played more like a rim-rolling big man around the basket.

“Drafting a Thompson twin requires a leap of faith,” I wrote in pre-draft feature on the twins in June 2023. “For every legitimate reason there is to doubt their NBA translation, passing on them feels just as risky.”

The 2023 NBA Draft was led by one of the greatest prospects in NBA history in Victor Wembanyama. After he went off the board to San Antonio, the Charlotte Hornets took Brandon Miller and the Portland Trail Blazers selected Scoot Henderson. Amen Thompson went to the Houston Rockets at No. 4, while Ausar went one pick later to Detroit at No. 5. It’s easy to wonder if the Hornets and Blazers are already regretting their decision not to take the leap of faith on Amen, who is proving he can overcome the weaknesses in his skill set to thrive on his own terms.

Thompson is a star in the making midway through his second season in the NBA. Since joining the starting lineup on Jan. 5 when Jabari Smith Jr. broke a bone in his hand, Thompson is averaging 19.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game on 57.4 percent shooting from the floor over a 10-game stretch. He had the best game of his career on Monday night against the reigning champion Boston Celtics, finishing with 33 points, nine rebounds, and hitting the game-winner just before the fourth quarter buzzer.

“I feel like Kobe,” Thompson said after hitting the game-winner. In reality, Thompson is a true original with much precedent.

The calling card for the Thompson twins was always their incredible intersection of size, athleticism, and agility. At 6-7 with a 7-foot wingspans, the Thompsons offered unparalleled run-and-jump ability with pristine body control and burgeoning creativity. For as explosive as Ausar is, Amen’s burst always felt like it was at another level. Even playing against what was often poor competition in an upstart league, Thompson’s athleticism still jumped off the screen in Overtime Elite. It just took a leap of faith to believe it was real.

It is jarring how closely Thompson is playing to his scouting report coming out of OTE right now. He’s shooting 25 percent from three and is barely taking more than one attempt per game from deep. He’s only attempted six pull-up threes on the year and still hasn’t made one. Defenses are playing way off him in the halfcourt, but he’s still making them pay by using the space they’re giving him to his advantage.

Thompson has a special skill for generating extra possessions for Houston. On a per-possession basis, he’s grabbing more offensive rebounds than Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, and Jarrett Allen, per NBA.com. He has a unique ability to slither through space and explode vertically in tight areas. Having a non-stop motor doesn’t hurt, either. Plays like this are becoming routine for Thompson that most other players couldn’t dream of replicating.

It’s no secret that the Rockets struggle to score in the halfcourt this year, ranking only No. 23 in halfcourt points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. One way to get around that is scoring before the opposing defense gets set, and that’s where Thompson again shines. Houston ranks No. 2 in the league in transition points added per 100 possessions, per CTG, in part because Thompson can always win a foot race down the floor.

Watch Thompson haul in the rebound here and push the ball coast-to-coast for a bucket. Shout-out to Steven Adams for being the consummate teammate by clearing the runway.

The Rockets have done a great job using Thompson in the halfcourt when he’s off-the-ball even with his shooting limitations. Houston went to Thompson as a roll man several times down the stretch against Boston, and it generated a good look on multiple instances. Thompson doesn’t shy away from contact as a screener, and he can unleash his tight-space coordinator and explosiveness when he gets even a little runway.

Poor Luke Kornet had no chance of stopping this one.

Thompson also generates so many easy buckets on cuts to the basket when the ball goes into Alperen Şengün in the post. Thompson is ultra efficient at finishing off cuts, scoring 1.31 points per possession on cuts and shooting 68.3 percent after cutting, per NBA.com.

Houston also likes to stick Thompson in the dunker’s spot, where he can use his standstill explosiveness to finish at the basket.

None of this even mentions Thompson’s defense, which is the best part of his game. He’s putting up a big steal rate (2.2 percent) and block rate (3.3 percent) for his position while blanketing some of the league’s best scorers on the ball. According to the NBA’s matchup data, Thompson has held Ja Morant to 33.3 percent shooting, De’Aaron Fox to 33 percent shooting, and Donovan Mitchell to 18.2 percent shooting as three of his top-four most frequent matchups this season.

Matchup data can be wonky, but Houston’s defense has been elite all season — currently ranking No. 4 in the league by allowing 108.6 points per 100 possessions. Thompson is undeniably a huge part of that with his tremendous versatility. Watch him stonewall 7-footer Evan Mobley in the post:

Watch his recovery ability for the block on one end, and his cutting to score on the other:

The Rockets have been the most surprising team in the West all season. Two years ago, Houston won 22 games, which earned them the pick used to draft Thompson. Ime Udoka took over ahead of last season, and immediately turned them into a .500 club with 41 wins. This year, Houston has has taken another huge leap, currently sitting at 31-14 with the No. 2 pick in the Western Conference.

Houston has taken this leap without an obvious franchise star. The team doesn’t have anyone in the top-35 of the Ringer’s NBA player rankings, for example. Instead, Houston has a tremendous depth all over the roster with enough future picks to trade for a star.

What if Thompson is the star the Rockets need hiding in plain sight? On the brink of his 22nd birthday, he’s running with every chance he gets and showing he can’t be put into a box. Thompson is succeeding in the NBA on his own terms — without a jump shot and without a real position. The Rockets made the leap of faith in the 2023 draft, and now they’re going to rewarded for years to come.