Fantastic well-rounded debut for the 4th pick.

This is my karma war to win!

Also rockets’ fans are you on your knees praising god right now or no?

Let’s be real first of all this dude has something that really can’t be “taught” Such as has natural rebounding specially on offense. You can see everywhere else still trying to figure out where the ball will land and he’s already jumped for it. His defense already is probably future all nba defense most likely honestly.

I’m wondering is he our real “franchise player”? If Jalen has to get better at the things amen seems to already have naturally in his game. Do you think Amen should be the main focus of the rockets? Is the real big 3 amen jalen and segun? Do we have a big 4 with Jabari? What about van fleet? Does Houston trade him while he is playing this good? Should still keep starting?

This kid is too amazing too much potential to not make the best of it?

This was posted months ago but I wanted to post it again for the Amen Thompson has only played against high schoolers crowd:

Amen Thompson stats against good competition

📷

Over the summer, overtime elite went on a tour and played against some good teams in Spain ( Liga ACB/LEB Oro/Plata), Australia (NBL) and Serbia. Liga ACB is actually one of the best domestic leagues outside the NBA.

Let’s see how he did.

Game 1 - Basquet Girona.

They have Marc Gasol and Roko Prkacin. He had 13 pts, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal on 5/8 shooting

Game 2 - CB Cornella.

He had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists on 8/11 shooting

Game 3 - Forca Lleida.

He had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists on 5/10 shooting

Game 4 - Mega.

Nikola Jokic, Nikola Jovic, Boban, Zubac, Pekovic have all played here. They’ve produced over 15 NBA talents Amen had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks on 5/14 shooting.

Game 5- Derby Montenegro.

He had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals on 8/11 shooting

Game 6- Adelaide 36ers.

These guys just beat the Suns during preseason. Giddey and Lamelo played in this league. Amen had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals on 6/12 shooting

It’s a small sample size but these teams are much tougher than college teams and Amen played well.

He averaged 17 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 2 SPG, 1.5 BLKs on 63 TS%. He shot 5.8 FTA per game and made them at a 74.4% clip (he’s now at 82% this OTE season)

This was his first time ever playing overseas too. I think Amen is a special prospect who would be getting number 1 talks any other year. OTE comp is bad but it doesn’t take away from how brilliant Amen is

Amen “Holy Driver” Thompson, is a key player in our current streak. He’s been a lockdown defender, skys for rebounds, and makes strong cuts. I am really glad he fell to us, as he has so much promise. I remember being hyped and watching his OTE footage in the summer, and he has not disappointed.

Jalen Green has been on an insane heater for this Rockets’ win streak, but Thompson continues to catch my eye every time I watch them play. Excellent rebounder, knows the shots he wants to take, Swiss Army knife defender. Just constantly making winning plays.

He’s had an up and down rookie season, but he’s been a huge part of this Rockets’ win streak and looks like a future cornerstone for that franchise. Hopefully one day he can develop at least an okay 3-point shot, but even without it, he’s been proving in recent weeks he can still be a high-impact player on a winning team.

What's the collective view here based very early and preliminary minutes he's played? To me, free throw form looks good credit to Sullivan, court vision looks good, athlecisim and bounce is there, good rebounder, can be a great defender. Shot still needs work, offensively I've seen a number of possessions where he can't seem to get to the spot he wants because of his handles, I hope he works on his handles.

..Led me to 11 championships on 2K. He’s the next Bill Rusell (I think that’s how you spell Billy’s name)… Just wait!

Monster stat line for Amen in his first game back from a grade 2 ankle sprain:

His shot mechanics look much more fluid and consistent. As a random mf on the internet I won't factor this into my evaluation, but if his workouts show that his shooting improvements are legit it'd do wonders for his stock.

So I know a lot of people are disappointed with the 4th pick outcome from last night's lottery, but I thought I might try and make the case for selecting Amen Thompson with the 4th overall pick. While Amen is not a Wemby or Scoot level prospect, he's certainly still a VERY good prospect worthy of the 4th overall pick that fills a lot of our team needs. Lot of text below, so here's a TL;DR up front.

TL;DR. Amen has ELITE playmaking and physical tools that will translate to the NBA. Jumbo-sized playmakers are one of the most valued positions in the NBA and we have a chance to draft one at pick #4 who has ridiculously high potential (greater than Scoot IMO). While the shooting is a concern right now, it shouldn't stop us from taking a swing on a guy with legit NBA superstar upside.

• Addressing the OTE Concern

  • While yes, the OTE league where Amen played this past year is not up to par with the G-League or NCAA, people completely dismissing Amen due to the level of competition in OTE are completely missing the point. You evaluate draft prospects based on the tools they are coming into the league with, and Amen has several ELITE tools that are going to translate to the NBA regardless of competition. People using the "competition" excuse to pass on Amen would've also done the same for Shaedon Sharpe who only had tape against high school players last draft, yet Shaedon looks like one of the most promising young players in the league. Don't use competition as an excuse to completely overlook what is a good prospect (he's #3-4 on nearly every draft board for a reason). IMO, just using the OTE competition level to discredit Amen is a lazy, cop-out opinion. The level of competition he played against says nothing about him individually as a player.

• Athleticism

  • The Athletic's Sam Vecenie (one of the best draft experts our there) put it best when he said Amen "will be a top 5 athlete in the NBA the moment he's drafted". In a league full of athletic outliers, this is a pretty crazy statement, but it is true. Amen has an elite first step, an insanely good vertical leap off of 1 or 2 feet, and he's also very quick laterally and can change directions on a dime. All of these elite athletic tools will help him a ton in the NBA.

• Frame/Defense:

  • Amen was just measured at the combine this week. He's 6'5.75'' tall (without shoes) with a 7'0'' wingspan. For reference this is about the same size as Andre Iguodala but with a 1 inch longer wingspan. So Amen has legit SF size which is a huge tool for a guy set to be a point guard in the NBA. His frame and athletic tools should also allow him to guard 1-3 easily along with guarding smaller 4s. He has a ton of potential on defense, but just needs to find consistency on that end moving forward as he still shows defensive lapses from time to time.

• Playmaking

  • This is Amen's best attribute after his otherworldly athleticism. Amen has extremely good playmaking instincts this should allow him to play as a PG in the NBA. Amen can make every pick and roll read in the book, and has even shown the ability to manipulate the defense to open up passing lanes. Combine this passing ability with his height and his elite athleticism, and you have the potential for an NBA superstar. Large wing playmakers like Luka and Lebron are probably the most sought after archetype in the NBA and rightfully so, if you have an elite one then it's a huge boost for your team.

  • Amen does have a tendency to overcomplicate things for himself, opting for the tougher pass when the easy read would suffice which has lead to higher turnover numbers than you'd like to see. This is something that will need to be worked on in the NBA.

• Shooting

  • This is probably my biggest concern with Amen for me. At the moment, Amen has a very broken jumper and hasn't shown the ability to consistently hit shots from outside. With outside shooting being arguably the most important skill in the modern NBA, this is an issue. However, there have been plenty of draft prospects with questionable jump shots that have been able to make a major impact in the NBA like former MVPs Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose. Coincidentally, the players have that have overcome similar shooting struggles are also ones with elite athletic and playmaking tools just like Amen. While this is a concern, I don't think it will prevent Amen from being a productive NBA player even if the shot never comes around.

• Ball Handling:

  • Amen's handle is solid, but is still a work in progress. He'll most likely have some ball security issues during his first 1-2 years in the league, but he has a solid enough base that I wouldn't mark it as a major concern for him as a prospect.

• Improvement over the Season and Work Ethic

  • Amen showed major improvement this season going from the OTE regular season into the OTE playoffs. During the regular season, Amen's shooting splits were 54.3/25.0/61.0 but during the playoffs they jumped up to 50.0/33.3/77.0. This increase in outside shooting percentages also coincided with a slight change in jumper form. While the "better" numbers here still aren't great, I do think the improvement is promising and to me it shows that the jumper is still fixable. I don't think he'll ever be Steph Curry, but if he can become a 34-35% 3pt shooter like Ja where teams need to at least respect the shot a bit, that will be a huge boost to his play.

  • In addition to his outside shooting improvement, Amen increased his assist numbers from 5.6 APG to 9.3 APG during the playoffs while keeping his turnovers at the same level. This huge jump in production over the course of the season is very promising not only because it shows continuous improvement, but also because it occurred during a jump-up in competition during the playoffs.

  • Amen has been rumored to have really stellar work ethic and I think the improvement over the season supports that. Amen is a project player, but by all accounts he has shown the work ethic to make the most of his potential. For me, work ethic becomes extremely important when you talk about project players and Amen definitely hits the mark here.

What his potential fit looks like in Houston:

• Defensively, Amen is exactly what Udoka wants at the PG position. He's extremely athletic and long with the ability to switch 1-4. His 7' wingspan combined with the 7'2'' wingspans of Tari and Jabari could be the makings of an extremely good defense.

• Offensively, Amen fills a giant hole in our roster as a perimeter playmaker. IMO, he would be our long term starting point guard moving forward. His ability to create a ton of rim pressure should create open looks for shooters, and he's shown a really good ability to hit the roll man in the PnR which should help Sengun out as well.

• The only question mark with fit for Amen comes from his shooting. He's a negative shooter right now which will hurt our spacing in the near term. If we draft Amen, I think it'll become even more important for Sengun to develop a solid outside shot. With Sengun shooting 33% from 3 this past year, I think this is definitely a possibility.

NBA Comparison:

• Hyper-athletic Josh Giddey with slightly worse playmaking

• 6'7'' Ja Morant with a worse outside shot (and not a head-case)

Good Scouting Report Videos:

Hey Rockets fans! So I am back after my Cam Whitmore post to talk about Amen Thompson as per your request. So coming into the league, I will humbly admit Amen was a hard person for me to gauge. First, was the OTE factor, which was simply difficult to assess the quality of opponents due to it not having been done before, so I was a bit sketchy about that. Additionally, I did have significant shooting concerns as it did not seem like opponents respected his shot which concerns me for a lead generator of offense. However, I was encouraged by what seemed like a high-IQ, great playmaking and defensive hustle. I had him around 7th or 8th on my big board. But when the Rockets got him and Cam I was ecstatic as I believe they both brought unique skills that were needed to this team.

So, how has he done so far?

I'd say pretty damn good! When rookies enter the league there are two consistent traits I always see. They can't shoot well. And they can't play defense. While, as it applies to Amen I have concerns about the former still, the latter is what I would like to discuss because the kid is lockdown. Straight up. Let's dive into the numbers.

- Amen has played 29 games and averages 16.6 minutes per game. Among guys who have done the same, his defensive Box Plus-Minus among rookies EVER is 7th. Incredible stuff. The people above him are Manute Bol, Mark Eaton, Oliver Miller, Matisse Thybulle, Brevin Knight and John Salley. Directly below him are Bill Walton, Arvydas Sabonis and David Robinson. Literally all these players became special defenders of key contributors with maybe Miller as an exception, but as the most overweight player in NBA history that speaks for itself.

- Now you may have noticed that nearly everyone around him is a big and he is not. Basketball Reference has his position as SF this year and while he is kind of weird positionally, that is the best by a rookie SF ever by a large margin. He is at 3.0 and the next is at 2.2.

- If you consider him a SG, he is second behind Matisse who is probably pound for pound the best wing defender in the NBA.

- If you consider him a PG, he is second to only Brevin Knight, who was an excellent defender for the Cavs in his day.

In any respect for a stat, that goes back to 1973, he is in unmarked territory for a rookie. Now I know what the next rebuttal is. But Amen is in his age-21 season. He is an older rookie and likely more defensively polished. Fair enough. But that is when I tell you that ever single player above him that did better as a rookie was in their age-22 season or older! So let's adjust it to consider ALL seasons among players 21 and under (including younger rookies second or third seasons). He is SECOND behind Magic Johnson and directly above Andrei Kirilenko, Rajon Rondo, Ben Simmons, Mitchell Robinson, and Anthony Davis, all excellent defenders in their own rights.

The point of all of this is to say that Amen is not just a good defender, he is a GREAT defender. It is not hyperbolic to say that he will be a consistent ALL-Defense guy throughout his career as I believe that is the likelihood. Not many great young perimeter defenders come through the NBA and he did and y'all got a stud. He has a serious role to play on a team wanting to contend.

Now let's get beyond his defensive and look at what he has shown us in the box score in relation to points-rebounds-assists. Per 36 Amen averages 14.7-9.6-4.8 (!!!). You can imagine that alone speaks for itself. Yeah well the only rookies to average 14-9-4 that since the merger are Larry Bird, Chris Webber, Alperen Sengun, Victor Wembanyama and Amen Thompson. Special company. Yes, but he is an old rookie! Ok, so let's look at guys who have averaged his 14.7-9.6-4.8 through their age-21 season since the merger. Jokic. Doncic. Sengun. Amen. Lot of triple doubles there.

Let's go beyond rookies and guys that are 21 and younger and let's just look at players who have put up these type of numbers per-36 in general. The guys to do this multiple times in their career are Jokic, Giannis, Sabonis, Alvan Adams, Westbrook, Bird, Demarcus Cousins, Sengun, Randle, Bam and Wilt. However, those are all bigs. What makes Amen special is that he is doing this as a guard or SF. The only PG/SG/SF to have EVER done this are Russ, Doncic, Bird, Billy Cunningham or Oscar Robertson. All present or future HOFers and again, a whole lot of triple doubles.

His rebound percentage of 14.4% is the 9th best by a SF 21 or younger. If you consider him a SG that is the best ever. If you consider him a PG, he is only behind Luka and Dejounte Murray. His combination of a 14.4 Rebound % and 18.9% assist percentage has only been accomplished as a rookie by Walton, Adams and Sengun. Add in all 21 year olds or younger and you add Murray, Jokic, Doncic, Webber and T-Mac.

Sorry for all the statistics and data dump I am genuinely excited about Amen. He blew my expectations away and is already super productive as just a rookie. Sure, he may never end up being the greatest shooter but he will be one of the best rebounders and passers for his position range, while being one of it not the best defenders. What more can you want?

So my conclusion based on history is Amen will be a guy who puts up a lot of triple doubles and is one of the best defenders at his position for years to come. Enjoy him because he is damn great.

So coming into the league, I will humbly admit Amen was a hard person for me to gauge. First, was the OTE factor, which was simply difficult to assess the quality of opponents due to it not having been done before, so I was a bit sketchy about that. Additionally, I did have significant shooting concerns as it did not seem like opponents respected his shot which concerns me for a lead generator of offense. However, I was encouraged by what seemed like a high-IQ, great playmaking and defensive hustle. I had him around 7th or 8th on my big board. But when the Rockets got him and Cam I was ecstatic as I believe they both brought unique skills that were needed to this team.

So, how has he done so far?

I'd say pretty damn good! When rookies enter the league there are two consistent traits I always see. They can't shoot well. And they can't play defense. While, as it applies to Amen I have concerns about the former still, the latter is what I would like to discuss because the kid is lockdown. Straight up. Let's dive into the numbers.

- Amen has played 29 games and averages 16.6 minutes per game. Among guys who have done the same, his defensive Box Plus-Minus among rookies EVER is 7th. Incredible stuff. The people above him are Manute Bol, Mark Eaton, Oliver Miller, Matisse Thybulle, Brevin Knight and John Salley. Directly below him are Bill Walton, Arvydas Sabonis and David Robinson. Literally all these players became special defenders of key contributors with maybe Miller as an exception, but as the most overweight player in NBA history that speaks for itself.

- Now you may have noticed that nearly everyone around him is a big and he is not. Basketball Reference has his position as SF this year and while he is kind of weird positionally, that is the best by a rookie SF ever by a large margin. He is at 3.0 and the next is at 2.2.

- If you consider him a SG, he is second behind Matisse who is probably pound for pound the best wing defender in the NBA.

- If you consider him a PG, he is second to only Brevin Knight, who was an excellent defender for the Cavs in his day.

In any respect for a stat, that goes back to 1973, he is in unmarked territory for a rookie. Now I know what the next rebuttal is. But Amen is in his age-21 season. He is an older rookie and likely more defensively polished. Fair enough. But that is when I tell you that ever single player above him that did better as a rookie was in their age-22 season or older! So let's adjust it to consider ALL seasons among players 21 and under (including younger rookies second or third seasons). He is SECOND behind Magic Johnson and directly above Andrei Kirilenko, Rajon Rondo, Ben Simmons, Mitchell Robinson, and Anthony Davis, all excellent defenders in their own rights.

The point of all of this is to say that Amen is not just a good defender, he is a GREAT defender. It is not hyperbolic to say that he will be a consistent ALL-Defense guy throughout his career as I believe that is the likelihood. Not many great young perimeter defenders come through the NBA and he did and y'all got a stud. He has a serious role to play on a team wanting to contend.

Now let's get beyond his defensive and look at what he has shown us in the box score in relation to points-rebounds-assists. Per 36 Amen averages 14.7-9.6-4.8 (!!!). You can imagine that alone speaks for itself. Yeah well the only rookies to average 14-9-4 that since the merger are Larry Bird, Chris Webber, Alperen Sengun, Victor Wembanyama and Amen Thompson. Special company. Yes, but he is an old rookie! Ok, so let's look at guys who have averaged his 14.7-9.6-4.8 through their age-21 season since the merger. Jokic. Doncic. Sengun. Amen. Lot of triple doubles there.

Let's go beyond rookies and guys that are 21 and younger and let's just look at players who have put up these type of numbers per-36 in general. The guys to do this multiple times in their career are Jokic, Giannis, Sabonis, Alvan Adams, Westbrook, Bird, Demarcus Cousins, Sengun, Randle, Bam and Wilt. However, those are all bigs. What makes Amen special is that he is doing this as a guard or SF. The only PG/SG/SF to have EVER done this are Russ, Doncic, Bird, Billy Cunningham or Oscar Robertson. All present or future HOFers and again, a whole lot of triple doubles.

His rebound percentage of 14.4% is the 9th best by a SF 21 or younger. If you consider him a SG that is the best ever. If you consider him a PG, he is only behind Luka and Dejounte Murray. His combination of a 14.4 Rebound % and 18.9% assist percentage has only been accomplished as a rookie by Walton, Adams and Sengun. Add in all 21 year olds or younger and you add Murray, Jokic, Doncic, Webber and T-Mac.

Sorry for all the statistics and data dump I am genuinely excited about Amen. He blew my expectations away and is already super productive as just a rookie. Sure, he may never end up being the greatest shooter but he will be one of the best rebounders and passers for his position range, while being one of it not the best defenders. What more can you want?

So my conclusion based on history is Amen will be a guy who puts up a lot of triple doubles and is one of the best defenders at his position for years to come. Enjoy him because he is damn great.