Amen Thompson scouting report: Houston Rockets’ sophomore is about take a giant leap
We haven’t seen many basketball players like Amen Thompson. He’s a one-of-one athletic talent with a preternatural feel for passing, shooting 13.8% from 3-point range as a rookie. There aren’t analogs for us to better understand Thompson’s game. His rookie season, though, was undeniably promising.
Amen Thompson scouting report
Amen Thompson proved a positive player for the Rockets at the end of the season, finishing the year at 9.5 points, 6.6 boards, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game on league average (57.6% true shooting) efficiency.
Advanced metrics view Thompson favorably — his +1.5 Estimated Plus Minus placed him in the 84th percentile leaguewide. He only trailed Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren and Dereck Lively among rookies.
The lion’s share of Thompson’s rookie impact came on the defensive end, where he wrecks games with his special athletic tools and instincts. He’s already a menace defending the ball, rounding screens and mirroring defenders with his elite agility and quick twitch explosion.
Houston tasked Thompson with all sorts of matchups, guarding everyone from small guards to giant wings.
Though Amen Thompson’s off-ball defense isn’t perfect yet, he is still prone to lapses in focus and over-aggression, as most rookies are. In Houston’s attacking, aggressive defensive scheme, Thompson can be overzealous sometimes, attempting to make plays on the perimeter.
It is far from a death sentence, though, as many rookies, especially ones with Thompson’s physical gifts, must learn to hone their aggression levels. His same aggressive tendencies allow Thompson to wreak havoc defending off-ball and create turnovers at an elite rate.
Only five players eclipsed Thompson’s 2.7% steal rate last season (Matisse Thybulle, Dyson Daniels, Alex Caruso, De’Anthony Melton, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander). For a wing/guard, his 2.5% block rate is elite, too, placing him eighth in the NBA among non-bigs (John Konchar, Scottie Barnes, Caruso, Derrick White, Ausar Thompson, Thybulle, Herb Jones) last season.
Few defenders match Thompson’s ground coverage ability, as his elite speed, change of direction, and quickness let him do the job of multiple defenders at once. He’s capable of defending the pick and roll from either spot, tagging on the weak side and rotating to protect the rim as a secondary paint defender. Among regular rotation players, only Jock Landale posted a higher block rate (3.8%) than Thompson on the Rockets.
Amen Thompson positively impacted winning on the defensive end as a rookie with a clear all-defensive ceiling. His offensive ceiling, though, could fall even higher. At the moment, Thompson is an enigmatic offensive player. Total non-shooting guards who create advantages at will while functioning as a temporary big sometimes don’t make much sense.
Late in the season, Houston experimented more with Thompson at the five with Sengun injured. His success in that slot is a testament to his adaptability. Thompson’s elite vertical athleticism, rebounding and playmaking for his size all lend well to a part-time small-ball five. Even without a reliable jumper, Thompson should at least find some way to impact the game. He’s too talented not to.
That jumper is a notable problem, though. The baseline sits as low as feasibly possible, shooting under 14% on a measly 2.0 threes attempted per 100 possessions. Thompson shot 68.4% at the free-throw line on the year. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s reasonable to expect Thompson to struggle as a shooter for the near and far future.
But Amen Thompson’s advantages in other areas, notably slashing and playmaking, will mitigate his shooting woes to some extent. We’ve seen players like Ben Simmons reach All-NBA level impact with a historically inefficient shot, and Thompson’s is already better than that. He’s truly an enticing initiator prospect, blazing by defenders with elite speed and explosion.
Despite his total lack of jump shooting, Thompson maintained positive efficiency via his success at the basket. He converted 71.4% of his shots within three feet, comparable to the efficiency of most centers. Thompson boasts an explosive hop step comparable to elite NFL backs, exploding through tiny gaps in the defense to carve out finishing angles above the rim.
His handle is currently limited, but Thompson’s sheer first step, explosion and unique movement style flummox defenders. The flashes of more advanced handling in the pick and roll and out of isolations provide glimpses of what Thompson’s on-ball future could look like.
Thompson passes like a true point guard, reading the game at a veteran level already. He’s a wildly creative passer, often trading safety for acrobatic, high-level reads. It doesn’t equate to perfect consistency now but portends an elite passer in the future as he ages, matures and refines his skillset.
Projecting Amen Thompson forward can be difficult, given the lack of familiarity. There isn’t much historical comparison to latch onto when we think about who Amen Thompson was entering the NBA and who he could become. Not many basketball players play and operate like him, for better or worse.
NBA stars often forge their own singular paths. Draymond Green, Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Buttler, just to name a few, felt confoundingly unique and unfamiliar yet maximized their elite traits into a stat package. On an ascending Rockets team, Thompson should have the infrastructure in place for him to reach his ceiling.
Though they may not congeal as obviously as other young players, few NBA newbies combine elite athletic tools, skill and feel for the game like Amen Thompson does. His foundation is strong for future success, no matter how that impact manifests down the line.