Amen Thompson Rockets Season Review: NBA’s BEST Perimeter Defender, Year Three LEAP & More

Amen Thompson Rockets Season Review: NBA’s BEST Perimeter Defender, Year Three LEAP & More

On today’s show, Aman Thompson’s season in review. The defensive phenom is blossoming into a two-way star. Expectations for him coming into this past season, the growth that we saw and big questions moving forward, as well as our one game, one play, and one number and his overall season grade. It’s all coming up right here at Locked on Rise. This is mission control Houston. ignition sequence 5. 6 5 4 3 2 1. What is up and welcome to another edition of Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. As always, I’m your host, Jackson Gatlin, native Houstononian and credentialed media member. I’m also the host of Locked on NBA Thursdays. Be sure to follow along wherever you listen to your podcasts or on YouTube. Just search Locked on Rockets where the best way you can help us grow our show is to listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. On today’s show, we continue our Rockets review series, taking a look at year two from Amen Thompson, the blossoming two-way force, the defensive phenom, adding a bit more to his offensive bag this past season and what we can expect from him moving forward. Some of the big questions that we still have for him. We’ll get into one game, one play, and one number from this past season, as well as his overall season grade, what we saw out of him, the growth, all of it. First, want to let you know that today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NBA for $20 off of your first purchase. And as always, thanks so much for making Lockdown Rockets part of your day every single day, whether it’s on your way to work, lunch break, in the gym. Thank you so much for being an everydayer. All right, with a Min Thompson, first off, a phenomenal year two, right? Just I I feel like on paper, right, there’s very few young players, guys who are sophomores in the NBA who have quite the impact that Am Thompson did. And after a sensational rookie year where he excelled in so many different categories where he was used uh you know in a different way than he had ever been throughout that point in his career, right? Being played off ball uh quite a bit, making his impact defensively and then finding spots to still be effective on the offensive end despite not having the ball in his hands a lot which is, you know, which was a change for him, right? and he slotted in. He played on the wings. He handled the basketball. He played as the five when Alpore and Shingun went down due to injury a couple years ago. So coming into year two for Amin Thompson, the expectations were pretty pretty high and I think we saw so much evolution from Amin Thompson throughout the year. We saw him be deployed in a variety of roles again coming into the year. There was an expectation that, you know, kind of not a matter of if, but like a matter of when Amen Thompson would kind of force Inodoka’s hands into, you know, inserting him into the starting lineup. If any of you remember, we did our Rockets board bets um before the season. And one of the questions that we asked was how many games would a Men Thompson ultimately start um this past season? and he wound up crushing those numbers uh if far exceeding uh the numbers that we had jotted down from. He started 42 games and that was the high end, right? 41 plus games like more than starting more than half the season was like the biggest number on that poll. Now granted that was as a direct result of the Jabari Smith Jr. injury, but it was one of those moments where it was just kind of like a little bit of a blessing in disguise because it allowed Emoa the opportunity to shake things up to add Amen to the starting lineup, which we all knew was going to, you know, happen one way or the other. And so, after a successful rookie season coming into year two, uh I some of the expectations were just, okay, how much better can he get offensively? When will he become a starter? And will we continue to see those glimpses of a guy that the Rockets internally feel like has a chance to become, you know, the face of the franchise and and one day down the line one of the best players in the entire NBA. And I think we continue to see a lot of those glimpses, right? He finished the year on the AllNBA defensive team in just year two of his career, one of the five best defenders in the NBA. He’s arguably already the best perimeter defender in the entire NBA. A lot of talking heads, a lot of pundits agree with that statement. So, it’s not even a hot take to go so far as to say that. Um, if Victor Wimbeyama didn’t exist, then I feel like Amen Thompson would be in the running for DPOI each and every season. And he might still sneak one or two out throughout his career because that’s just how good he is defensively. But we knew the defensive impacts. We knew the metrics. We knew just how impactful he would be on that end of the floor, whether he’s coming off the bench, whether he’s in the starting lineup. And hell, he started, you know, the final quarter of the season as a rookie and then he was inserted into the starting lineup again in year two in place of Jabarius Smith Jr. And now moving forward, he’s not he is a permanent fixture of the Rocket starting lineup. There’s not going to be a situation where he starts the season coming off the bench again. As much fun as the the Terror Twins were earlier in the season with Amen and Tari checking in together and just wreaking absolute havoc on the defensive end of the floor, it’s great to see Amen Thompson take that step and now have that guaranteed starter spot moving forward within the Rockets starting lineup and just kind of within the pecking order, the hierarchy of talent on the roster. the Rockets now that now that Jaylen Green is gone. Obviously KD is the top dog, but the priority for the young guys, right, is right there. Alpin Shingun 1A, Amen Thompson 1B, right there neck andneck for who is ultimately going to take the torch as this team’s best player moving forward. It’s been Alp for a couple years, but given Amen’s skill set and given the trajectory that he’s on and just the exponential growth that we saw in year two, there’s a sub there’s a not insignificant chance that Amen Thompson potentially surpasses Alpin Shingun uh as far as just how good he is this upcoming season. Is it a guarantee? No. Amen Thompson still has a long way to go offensively. But even this past season, we saw him take significant strides as an offensive player. It wasn’t just, oh, park him in the corner or leave him in the dunker spot and let him be a play finisher. He did a fair amount of that. Don’t get it twisted. He absolutely did a lot of that this past season, but he also was incredibly effective as an onball presence. He got downhill a lot. He was able to create for his teammates at a very, very high level. And when you go back and look at his stats, just his stats for the season, he averaged 14 points, 14.1 points per game, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Um, but you go back and look at his numbers from when he was officially inserted into the starting lineup and then didn’t leave the starting lineup for the remainder of the season. Um, so I’m going to crunch that as 37 games where he was officially like he was the de facto starter for the final back half of the season. Across those games, he wound up averaging about 16 points per game, nine rebounds, and five assists per contest, as well as three stocks per game. Um, an effective field goal percentage of 57.3%. Shot 56% from the floor. He was awesome and he was awesome in his rookie year since being inserted into the starting lineup. And on a per minute basis, it’s felt like these past two seasons, Amen Thompson has been flat out the most impactful player on a perm minute basis for the Houston Rockets. And it’s going to be really exciting to see what that looks like moving forward now that he is a permanent fixture of the starting lineup. He doesn’t have to come off the bench to start the season. His role isn’t going to adjust midway through the year. And the biggest thing we saw, you know, another step forward for him defensively, earning the AllNBA honors, absolutely, but the biggest thing for Amy Thompson, he’s already arguably the best defender in the NB, best perimeter defender in the NBA, all NBA caliber defender, all that. It’s the continued growth of the offensive game. And we saw him take some significant steps forward this past season as a primary ball handler, as a three-point shooter, as a guy who could make a defense pay if they left him wide open, especially in the corners. So, his three-point shooting numbers there got significantly better and just his overall confidence, his ability to attack and get downhill and understand how he could consistently put pressure on a defense. And we saw the coaching staff, we saw Emmy Odoka continue to put that faith and that confidence in Amin Thompson as the season progressed. And that’s only going to get even better this upcoming year because the Rockets are putting a lot of faith in Amin Thompson as the starting backcourt mate next to Fred Van Vleet. is going to have an immense amount of responsibility on ball touches, reps, all of that this upcoming season. That actually leads us into the first set of our big questions for Amen Thompson coming up for this next season. We’re going to get there in just one moment. First, today’s episode is brought to you by Open Phone. Look, if you’re running a business, you know that every missed call is money left on the table. Think about the last time that you had an urgent need, maybe for a plumber or a different service provider. If the first person didn’t answer, did you wait around? Probably not. You moved on. That’s why you need Open Phone. Open Phone is the number one business phone system built to streamline and scale your customer communications all from an app on your phone or computer. Open Phone lets you manage business calls and texts from a single app. They have a shared inbox feature that’s a total gamecher. You can jump into any conversation instantly without missing a beat. And Open Phone is offering our listeners 20% off your first 6 months at openphone.com/lockedonba. That’s openphone.com. O pen ph.com/lockedonba. And if you have existing numbers with another service, open phone will port them over at no extra charge. Open phone. No missed calls, no missed customers. And continuing on here at Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. All right, taking a look at some of the questions for Amen Thompson. We got some answers from this past season. Now, the the defense was never in question with Amin Thompson. He made his mark defensively from the moment he stepped on the court as an NBA player, and he’s only continued to get better in that regard. He is going to be an all a year in year out all defensive team first ballot, you know, guy. He’s going to get DPOI votes. He’s going to be one of the top five best defenders in the NBA every single season. The question marks for Amen Thompson routinely come down to what will he look like offensively? How much more can he develop? How much more will he grow? And what areas of his game can he continue to improve offensively? Now, one of those questions was kind of addressed this past season. Just the fact that Amin Thompson, you know, a lot of people, a lot of people who don’t really watch Am Thompson or don’t really watch the Rockets think of him as this offensive liability, a guy that isn’t a, you know, he he sits in the dunker spot and he gets offensive rebounds and he slashes and he can’t actually self-create. That is so far from the truth because Amin Thompson has shown an increased ability, right? A a pretty good knack for being able to get downhill, get into the teeth of the defense, get inside the paint. And watching him grow in confidence in his ability to get to the paint, elevate above the defense, and then just drop in these easy like five to 10footers, you know, just inside the painted area or getting all the way downhill and then getting to like a euro step. I I want to point out Euro steps are not easy moves to master. There’s a reason you don’t see guys running around the NBA doing euro euro steps every other possession. It’s not an easy move. The timing, the finesse, the misdirection behind it. And for a Min Thompson to be able to pair his ridiculous athletic ability with the finesse and the skill that it takes to be able to euro on guys, that’s huge. is kind it low-key the Aman Thompson Euro step is kind of like his go-to move right now where he’ll euro in the paint and sometimes he euros into like that onelegged kind of floater or he’ll euro past a guy and get right to the rim for a layup or a dunk. Like it’s really impressive that he’s got that in his bag as a reliable go-to move getting downhill in just year two. But where things start to get really interesting is how much more effective can he become offensively? And there’s two limiting factors for a Thompson. And one of them I think is more significant than the other. It’s something we’ve talked about in the past. So I’ll talk I’ll talk about the one that I think people focus on a little bit too much and that’s the outside shooting. Amen Thompson and this is this might be a spa spicy take. I don’t know. Amen Thompson could stop could could stunt his development right now as an outside shooter and he’s still an absolute terror of a player. He he could not develop any further as an outside shooter. Just be an okay corner three-point shooter. a not so great above the break shooter and never gonna be a guy that’s, you know, gonna like dice you up off the dribble, get to a step back three, that kind of thing. And he’d be just fine as a player because of how impactful is defensively, because what what he provides rebounding, facilitating, all of it, right? He’s like a souped-up, more athletic version without the uh mental baggage of a Ben Simmons. That’s kind of and that’s kind of crazy to think about, right? Ben Simmons without the mental barriers is an allNBA caliber player. Um, and so the the thing is Zen Thompson is an absolute basketball sicko, right? He’s a psycho. And because of that, I have every bit of confidence in the world that he’s going to continue to work on his outside shot. And I don’t know that he’ll ever be, you know, a truly transcendent outside scorer, but he doesn’t need to be, right? If he can just get to a point where he keeps defenses honest from the perimeter, the the becoming a better corner three-point shooter was a step in the right direction, right? Seeing him actually hit shots consistently from that area of the floor was encouraging because it makes defense’s question, right? Do we leave him in in the corner? Do we close out on him? If we close out on him, is he going to slip back door and get to the rim for an easy cut or lob or an offensive rebound? It gives him more versatility in his offensive repertoire. Now, we did see some confidence and some growth from him in the ability to kind of walk a guy down and if a guy is really sagging off of him or there were times where opposing defenses parked a big man on a Thompson, we would see him kind of walk the guy down and get to like that kind of free throw line, free throw line extended area like 15 to 18 feet and then hit a pull-up midi. I don’t know if that’s ever going to become a permanent fixture of his game, but the confidence to be able to take those shots and hopefully moving forward the the ability to hit them at a decent enough rate will continue to open things up for him. But the outside shooting is certainly a big question for him. Even if you get a menson to a place where he’s like low30s from the perimeter coupled with everything that else that he can do offensively, I I mean, dude, that is a that is basically a top 10 player in the NBA. truly it is. Um, but the bigger, more limiting factor, I feel like even more so than the outside shooting is going to be his work as a ball handler. And this is where the Rockets are showing a they’re showing a lot of confidence by making him the clear-cut number two ball handler on the team behind Fred Van Vleet uh, in the starting lineup in the starting back court with Steady Freddy because there were times this past season where Aman Thompson’s ball handling looked a little suspect, right? He doesn’t always look the most comfortable, especially in the half court. Hell, even in transition sometimes, right, the dude’s such a blur that sometimes he’s taken off in transition and he doesn’t have a firm handle on the ball or he’s he’s, you know, careening down the court, uh, you know, going zero to 100 a little bit too quick. Now, he’s not quite on like the Russell Westbrook tier of like erratic offensive behavior. He’s a little bit more measured and controlled than than prime Westbrook was, but there are moments, especially in the half court where the handle, you know, looks a little loose or he looks a little unsure of himself at times or, you know, if a defender does stop his first move, then maybe he doesn’t have like a go-to move or a counter or the ability to, you know, reload and then attack again. And that’s going to be the biggest thing for him moving forward is becoming a more confident ball handler and getting to the point where he can not only rely just on his ridiculous like 99th 99.99th percentile athleticism to get to his spots on the floor to manipulate the defense the way that he wants to. But being able to have the ball on a string, being able to be a bit more crafty, being able to add more to his game than just the athleticism. It feels honestly saying it that way feels like a disservice because he doesn’t just rely on his athleticism. Amen Thompson’s an incredibly smart player, right? The dude is super high IQ. He’s got like a superco computer processor for a brain. The way that he reads the game, understands where and how to move without the basketball offensively as a cutter, playing out of the dunker spot, playing out of the corners, setting a screen, and operating out of the short role. There’s so many different ways that Ahmed Thompson has been and can be continued to be deployed offensively. I know that we talked about this in the Shingun review episode, but thinking about the twoman game between Amin Thompson and Kevin Durant is going to be ridiculous. Like, think about Amin Thompson setting a screen for KD and being able to receive the ball in the short roll because the defenders have to worry about KD pulling up from three. Or flip it around. Amen Thompson is the primary ball handler and KD sets a screen and the defenders have to make sure that KD can’t flare out for an easy three-pointer. So Amen Thompson gets a wide openen, you know, straight line drive down to the rim. Like there’s so many different exciting things that the Rockets are going to be able to accomplish this next season by having KD added to this squad. But for Amin Thompson, that is my number one thing for him. My number one big question for him going into this next year is what will he ultimately look like as a ball handler? We know that this offseason in particular, he’s been working with the guard whisperer and and really working on his ability as a perimeter player, as a primary, as a primary ball handler, as a lead guard. And these are all things that are going to be front and center on display for better or for worse this next season because the Rockets can’t get 48 minutes of Fred Van Vleet. And there are still some significant question marks about Reed Shepard as well. So Amin Thompson needs to be able to deliver as the Rockets secondary de facto ball handler behind Fred Van Vleet and he he did that a little bit this past season, right? the Rockets very gradually as the season progressed entrusted him with more and more onball responsibility and you could see the glimpses, the windows, the reasoning behind it as they kind of weaned they they took they took some reps away from Jaylen, they took some reps away from Fred and they made sure to give Aman Thompson, you know, a little bit of time on the ball. probably not as much as, you know, a lot of us would have liked to see this past season, but they did just enough to inspire some confidence and to get a glimpse at it moving forward. Because look, if it had been an absolute train wreck in the moments where Amen Thompson was entrusted to run the offense, then maybe the Rockets would have gone out and gotten a little bit more guard depth this past offseason. Maybe they would have gotten another ball handler, another creator, somebody that could help be the the true backup to Fred Van Vleet, um, or offset some of the deficiencies. But they have every reason to believe that Amen Thompson can and will be that lead ball handler. Um or at least the secondary ball handler behind Fred Van Vleet. Eventually though with the vision down the line, you know, whether it’s a year from now, a couple years from now, whatever, that Amin Thompson has the ability to be a true lead guard in the NBA with his ridiculous like 6’7, 6’8 frame, the insane athleticism, the court vision, um all of it. that is a is a true terror and somebody that is a matchup nightmare and is going to be really really hard for other teams to try and contain on a night-to-ight basis. So big questions for Amen Thompson moving forward. The outside shooting, the ball handling coming up. We’re going to get to his oneame, one play, one number from this past campaign as well as his overall season grade. We’re going to get there in just one moment. First, today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Look, have you ever decided at the last minute to head to a ball game with friends or family? Maybe it’s game day and you suddenly realize you want to be in the stands. That’s exactly where game time comes in. It’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress. With the money you save on tickets, you can splurge on food, drinks, merch, or even invite a bigger group to come out with you. Game time makes it all possible. Game time makes buying tickets so fast and simple. Prices on the app actually drop the closer that you get to first pitch. They’ve got incredible last minute deals, clear seat views, and a lowest price guarantee that takes the worry out of buying your tickets. Now, look, my favorite thing about games, and this this applies to whether you’re going to a baseball game or maybe you’re trying to get Rockets tickets for next season or, you know, it could be going to a concert or a comedy or theater event, whatever events you’re trying to go to, Game Time is fully transparent from start to finish. They don’t hit you at the very end with like hidden fees or like digital handling charges, right? Those are the worst from other ticket, you know, ticket sellers. So, take the guesswork out of buying your tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app today. Create an account. Use code locked on NBA for $20 off of your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account. Redeem code locked on NBA. That’s L O C E D O NA for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. And final segment here at Locked On Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. All right, let’s get to our one game, one play, one number from this past season for Amen Thompson. And again, if you have your one game, your one play, your one number from this past season, I want your thoughts in the YouTube comments. You don’t have to do all three. You can just pick which one. If there’s a a significant game or play or or number that stands out to you, then I want to hear about it in the comments. Um, the one game for Ben Thompson, there were so like there were so many good games to choose from, but the one that I keep coming back to and the one that I think really showcases what we can hopefully come to expect from Am Thompson moving forward and and the fact that it feels like he is on, you know, an all-star trajectory at a minimum. Like it very much feels like he’s headed for, you know, at least a version of all-star consideration this next season. Now, the Rockets may get ultimately screwed because if they’ve got three all-star caliber players in Kevin Durant, Alper and Shingun and Amin Thompson, one of them might ultimately get the squeeze or maybe the Rockets get three all-stars on the All-Star team. Who knows? Um, but the game that I keep coming back to for a men Thompson. Warriors at Rockets game seven. That game was eye opening, which is weird because Aman Thompson’s had a bunch of eye opening kind of jaw-dropping moments uh throughout his career already, but that game in particular was eye opening. Not just because like first just go through his actual like statline from that game. He was easily the best. He was the best player on the floor for the Rockets. 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists, had a steal, had a block, no turnovers, was nine of 16 from the floor. perfect six of six from the free throw line. And on top of the offensive production, he helped keep Steph Curry in check, like the issue in that game. And the reason that game went by the wayside, first off, in the first half of that game, Steph Curry was just one of seven shooting. Now, he did start to heat up a little bit in the third quarter where he went two for three, but it wasn’t until that fourth quarter where Amin Thompson had like the the calf cramp, whatever, um, and had to sit down where he like collapsed on a play and then was slow getting back on defense and then couldn’t keep up with Steph Curry and he bombs a three-pointer. It wasn’t until Amen Thompson literally could not go any further. he had like worn himself out that Steph Curry popped off. And that game just from a defensive perspective showed just how important Amen Thompson was, how how integral he was to trying to slow Steph Curry down in that series. But also it illustrated his ability, right? Cuz he he struggled in the first half of that Warrior series. He did, you know, lights were a little bright. First three games or so, he really struggled. Game four, he started to really find his way. Um, and then game five, he was awesome. Game six, he was still really, really solid across the board. Um, and then game seven, he was the best player on the floor. And that’s what you want to see out of a a blossoming star in Am Thompson. You want to see him adjust to the pressure of the playoffs, which he absolutely did, right throughout the series. And then in that game seven, we’ve referenced this a few different times on this show, but there was that moment in the third quarter where he was just dominant, where he was the best player on the floor in a game that featured Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. Amen Thompson was the best player on the floor for both teams in that third quarter. He had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists. uh he was dominant, got downhill repeatedly, and I’ve referenced this a lot, but is that moment where it’s like things slowed down for Men Thompson where he was like Neo in the Matrix and he just was able to figure out how to manipulate things, how to get downhill, that nobody on the Warriors could stop him. And for that being like the final game that we saw of Amin Thompson this season, I’m so encouraged that he can hopefully take that that confidence, that mentality, that aggression, and come into this next season knowing, hey, these reps, right, Jaylen Green is not here anymore. All those reps, all those shot attempts, like yeah, KD is going to get a handful of those, right? And and and maybe Alpie has a slightly bigger role, but that’s the Rockets big three now. That big three is Kevin Durant, Alperin Shingun, and Amin Thompson. he’s going to be stepping into a much bigger role, a role where he is uh featured offensively. And that’s going to be the cool part is seeing lineups and offensive sets where Aman Thompson is the focal point either as the primary ball handler getting downhill, playing with five out spacing, having cart blanch to do whatever he wants to to call the shots on the floor when Fred isn’t out there or even moments where Fred is out there and Fred’s playing off ball to him. That Warriors game felt like, weirdly enough, like I don’t want to call it like a breakout performance, but that felt like the Aman Thompson has arrived moment and he’s not going away. Um, he’s going to be a problem moving forward. And yeah, man, that that Warriors series was something else. And that game that game seven was was kind of crazy. So, that’s my one game for a Men Thompson. And there were a lot of good games to choose from. I could have gone with the the road win against the Cavs where he blocked Evan Mobley. That was a sick game. had a monster triple double in that one. Um his insane game against Boston, which is actually where we’re going to go next cuz my one play is the gamewinner from uh the road win against the Boston Celtics. Uh, and look, you know, after going into Boston the year before EA’s first trip back to Boston after everything happened up there, uh, and getting just absolutely smacked around by the Celtics on their way to their title run, it was really cool to see the Rockets just go on the road. And I mean, they went on the road and they beat all the top teams in the NBA. They beat the Thunder, they beat the Cavs, they beat the Celtics. Like, they were the only team in the NBA for a while. I think they might have I think one other team might have sneaked in a win there, but they were the only team in the NBA for a significant chunk of the season to have beaten both the Thunder and Cavs on the road. And you add the Celtics to that mix, right? They weren’t backing down from anybody. And Amin Thompson in that game against Boston was absolutely sensational. He wound up having the arguably the best game of his career. Now, there may have been other better games statistically, whether he, you know, got a triple double or or was, you know, racking up the steals and blocks a little bit more, but that was his careerhigh scoring wise, 33 points on 13 of 19 shooting. He was one of two from downtown. Uh, six of eight at the free throw line, had nine rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block, one turnover. And of course, the game winner, uh, the first game winner of his career where he had this to say in the postgame interview. Seth Gret. I knew this in off. Uh, that’s my first game winner. I feel like Kobe. Oh, so innocent, man. I’m going to miss Dylan Brooks, man. Dylan was always good to hype up the guys when they were uh when they were cooking. But uh that was a special moment, right? Amen Thompson dominated that game and he was given the green light, right? That was the trust from the coaching staff and from Eay Odoka to give him the ball and say, “Go win us the game.” Right? So, that was a big moment for him in his career, and I’m sure we’re going to see plenty more of those moments down the line as well. Um, for Amen Thompson’s one number, and I I really went back and forth on this one. Actually, before I get to the one number, I want to give an honorable mention to his one play because how can we not talk about him ragdolling Tyler Harrow across Toyota Center? Oh man, just the the the image of him grabbing Tyler Herrell by the jersey and then just like sliding him across the TC floor like a sack of potatoes lives rentree in my mind. I think about it at least like once a week. Um so I I it’s not really a play is the problem, but it also speaks volumes about this Rockets team, about Amen’s mentality, right? He’s not a soft player. He’s not going to take crap from anybody. He’ll he’ll stick up for himself, for his teammates. he’s ready to throw down at a moment’s notice. Hell, there was a moment in the playoffs, right, where Dylan Brooks had to come in and play peacemaker between Amen Thompson and I want to say it was Gary Payton the it was either Gary Payton the second or Pat Spencer. But when Dylan Brooks has to come in and play peacemaker between you and somebody else, you know that you’ve got a little bit of, you know, unhinged mentality to you, a bit of an edge. Um, and so people might, you know, might be worried, oh my god, do the Rockets still have the toughness? What are they going to do without Dylan Brook? Amin Thompson and you know Jabari and Tari are going to be bring plenty of toughness to this Rockets team, right? They got two years to learn from one of the best to ever do it in Dylan Brooks as an enforcer, as a tone setter. Um and they’ll be able to carry that tradition moving forward uh easily. I think uh for his one play went back and forth on this number for a little bit. And one number that I went to that did I want to say it didn’t I don’t want to say it surprised me but it’s a number that I fully expect to be drastically different this next season. Drives per game 7.5. Almond Thompson had seven and a half drives per game this past season. That was fourth on the team behind Jaylen Fred and even Alpin Shingun. And so I fully expect that number to jump up considerably. Now for by comparison, um, and this is NBA.com tracking data, so you know, tracking data take with a slight grain of salt. But, um, SGA led the NBA in drives per game at 20.6 drives per contest. Then like some of the other top guys in order, you got Jaylen Brunson 17.8, 8 Zion 17.7 Kade Cunningham 17.1 Trey Young 17.1 John 16.8 Luca 16.1 Dearan Fox 15.2 LaMelo Ball 15.1 James Harden 14.8 the list goes on and on and on. Um, the thing that all of these guys have, right, every single one of these guys that are at the top of this drives per game list, they are all generally with the exception of maybe Zion, although point Zion is very much a thing. They’re all the primary facilitators for their team. They’re all the primary ball handlers. They’re all these guards and wings that get downhill at an elite level and they create at an elite level for their teammates. for Aman Thompson to take that next step in his game, for him to level up again offensively. It’s not just about his ability as an offensive player. It’s not just about his ability to get downhill and score himself or score in transition. It’s about his ability to leverage his scoring gravity and elevate his teammates, right? And I really do feel like we’re going to see this next season a lot of lineups that are catered to Amen Thompson specifically. We’re talking like five out spacing lineups where Aman Thompson has the ball in his hands and gets to go downhill with shooters surrounding him, gets beautiful kickout passes or he just gets all the way to the rim or gets fouled and sent to the free throw line, right? Think it’s going to be like the Russell Westbrook, Giannis and Sakmpo special where you put shooters around those guys, you clear out the lane and you let them just drive and use their insane athleticism to put pressure on the defense. The recipe, the blueprint, it’s really that simple. And I think we’re going to see a lot more of that. a lot of lineups that feature Ammon Thompson as the focal point, as the driving force of the offense. And we’re going to see a lot of beautiful kickout passes to Kevin Durant, to Jabari Smith Jr., to Fred Van Vleet, to Dorian Finny Smith, all these guys, all this shooting that is now on the roster. So that drives per game number, I I don’t know if it’s gonna I’m not going to go so far as to say that it’s going to like double in, you know, I don’t think he’s going to suddenly shoot up to like 15 drives per game, but I fully expect that number to rise considerably. And I would argue that Aman Thompson will easily be the leader in drives per game for the Rockets next season because at the end of the day, KD is not a downhill force. He’s not a guy that gets downhill and drives a ton. Alporing drives a fair amount for a big man and Fred Van Lee drives a fair amount for the primary ball handler and the guy that runs the majority of pick and roll for the team. But Amen Thompson will absolutely lead this team in drives per game next season. And the more drives that he gets, right, if he can get up to that, you know, 14, 15, 16, 17 drives per game range along with other elite company, elite guards like SGA, like Jaylen Brunson, like Kate Cunningham, like Trey Young, then it’s going to pay dividends for his teammates. And it’ll show that, hey, he’s not only driving every single time, but he’s also creating he’s turning those drives into legitimate points and scoring opportunities either for himself or for his teammates. I fully expect that number to grow uh to increase considerably next season. Um again, I want your one game, one play, one number in the YouTube comments. For his overall season grade, to wrap things up, I might get some flack for this because I gave Alpie a B+, but I’m going to give him Thompson an A minus. Like, the dude’s just in year two of his career. He’s already cemented himself as one of the best defenders in the NBA and arguably the best defensive or best perimeter defensive player in the NBA. He earned all NBA defensive first team honors um in a really stacked defensive landscape, right? Like there are so many good defenders in today’s NBA. Uh, so to be one of the legitimate five best defenders as voted by, you know, a panel of of I can’t I’m not going to say panel of experts as voted on by the voters is is considerable as far as milestones are concerned. And you see now like part of the part of I think why he was you know why there was a little bit left to be desired maybe at times offensively is just lack of overall you know developmental reps to be had on offense because guys like Jaylen Green needed his touches and things like that. Now Amen Thompson is going to be a focal point. And so now this upcoming season will be his chance to really showcase himself, showcase his talent and prove that he can be more than just, you know, this Swiss Army knife, you know, Andre Iguidalesque, you know, complimentary piece and that he can truly be a blue chip cornerstone prospect and a guy that can elevate everybody on the team and be a legitimate go-to guy right there with Alpin Chingon and Kevin Durant. So, um I think there’s a very legitimate chance that he has to make the all-star team this next season. Uh maybe it comes down to just the Rockets getting squeezed and not being able to have all three allstars out there, but he’s already an allNBA caliber defender. He’s growing offensively. He has another big step to take offensively this next year. But there’s a world where Aman Thompson could easily average like 20 10 and five this next season. Like that’s not even crazy because he just averaged 169 and five as a starter this past season. few extra points, one extra rebound. Hell, maybe even some more assists. Maybe I’m short changing him. Maybe he’s 20, 10 and seven this next year potentially. I still think at his peak when he’s truly like settled into his prime, you know, a few years from now, Aman Thompson is going to be like a 25, 12, and seven to eight kind of guy, which is a top 10 player in the NBA, point blank, period. So, with that, Ammon Thompson A minus for this past season. I want your thoughts. Give me your thoughts on his uh year two. Uh what are your expectations out of him going into his next season? All that good stuff. Let me know your thoughts in the YouTube comments. As as always, thanks so much for checking out the show. Remember, the best way to help us grow the show, listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. But as always, thank you so much for watching. Thank you so much for listening. And we look forward to having you back right here at Locked On Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball.

Amen Thompson Rockets Season Review: NBA’s BEST Perimeter Defender, Year Three LEAP & More

Amen Thompson’s sophomore surge stuns NBA. Is he the league’s best perimeter defender already?

Houston Rockets’ rising star Amen Thompson earns All-NBA Defensive Team honors in just his second season. Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) breaks down Thompson’s impressive defensive prowess, offensive growth, and game-changing performances against elite opponents like Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The discussion covers Thompson’s expanded role following Jalen Green’s departure, his potential to average 20-10-5 next season, and the trust shown by coach Ime Udoka in crucial moments.

Tune in for an in-depth analysis of how Thompson’s development could reshape the Rockets’ future and his path to becoming a top-10 NBA player.

#Rockets #NBA #AmenThompson

📺 Subscribe On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnRockets

📲 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JTGatlin & https://twitter.com/LockedOnRockets

📲 Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jtgatlin.bsky.social

🎧 Follow/Subscribe/Listen:

Locked On Rockets Anywhere: https://linktr.ee/LockedOnRockets

Locked On NBA Anywhere: https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

For your next listen, check out the Locked On NBA podcast, where the season never ends providing national expertise with a local perspective. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

5-Hour ENERGY – Time to fuel up and turn it up with 5-hour ENERGY®️ Transfusion! Go to https://5hourenergy.com today and use my promo code LOCKEDONGOLF to receive 20% off your order.This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders.

OpenPhone – Streamline and scale your customer communications with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at www.openphone.com/lockedonnba

Monarch Money – Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year

Gametime – Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel – Right now, new customers can get ONE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#HoustonRockets #Rockets #NBA #KevinDurant #AlperenSengun #AmenThompson #JabariSmithJr #TariEason #ReedSheppard #FredVanVleet #DorianFinneySmith #StevenAdams #AaronHoliday #JaeSeanTate #JeffGreen #ClintCapela #JoshOkogie