NBA Draft Film Breakdown: Overtime Elite’s Amen Thompson In The OTE Finals

City Reapers guard Amen Thompson showcased his dominance all season long and topped it off with an OTE championship.

Projected top-five pick, Amen Thompson, showed both positives and negatives in his final few games for the City Reapers of the Overtime Elite. Let’s breakdown his performance and see how he contributed to winning a championship in the OTE Finals:

Stats

In the Overtime Elite Finals, Thompson averaged 14.3 points, 9 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.7 blocks, 4.3 turnovers and 4.3 fouls per game.

He shot 39.5% from the field, 28.6% from three and 64.3% from the free throw line.

Shooting

Thompson's Achilles’ heel is his jump-shot, and it didn’t look any better in the finals. He shot 28.6% from three on adequate volume and the mid-range jumper was nonexistent.

The shot mechanics needs a ton of work from the release point to the lower base. He relies heavily on his upper body with a lot of shoulder and wrist powering the jumper and the lack of energy transformation from his base plays a huge role in his poor shooting

He needs to get more legs and core involved to improve his shooting numbers and add some versatility as a shooter. The shooting touch gets alarmingly worse the farther away he gets from the rim.

Amen Thompson in the OTE finals shot 28.6% from three 4.7 attempts per game. His obvious Achilles’ heel is the outside shooting. His touch gets worse the farther out he is from the rim and often has bad misses like this. I hear he works relentlessly on his jump-shot. pic.twitter.com/KDU0f9RVZ7

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) March 8, 2023

Finishing

Thompson did a phenomenal job finishing at the rim in the half-court and in transition as he shot an incredible 75% at the rim. I strongly believe Thompson can be one of the best finishers in the NBA at some point in his career. Not many players on planet earth have the tools he has.

At 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, he has great positional size for a lead guard. He has Ja Morant-like body control and contortion when finishing around the rim. There are scenarios where Thompson will turn a heavily contested layup into a wide open layup strictly due to the way he moves in the air.

The creativity and versatility he possesses as a finisher allows him to put so much pressure on the rim. It also helps that he has a 40-plus inch vertical and has elite quickness getting off the ground. He’s the best overall athlete in the draft which certainly helps a lot with his finishing ability.

Amen Thompson has the upside to be one of the best finishers in the NBA due to the combination of his positional size, special body control / contortion, touch around the rim, special athleticism, and creativity as a finisher. He shot 75% at the rim in the OTE Finals. pic.twitter.com/73Dq30AXC7

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) March 8, 2023

Playmaking

Arguably Thompson's best skill is his passing ability. In the OTE Finals he averaged nine assists per game. He had a good assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.08. His creativity as a passer pops on film as he excels at manipulating a defense with his eyes and with ball fakes.

I believe he’s the best passer and has the highest ceiling as a playmaker in this draft. He needs to improve as a decision-maker and play more under control with the ball. Averaging over four turnovers a game in the finals isn’t ideal. Forced some passes and predetermined what play he was going to make a few times.

Although he’s one of the quickest players in the draft at his size, he tends to only play at one speed which often leads to him getting unforced turnovers or running into walls on defense. As he gets older, he’ll learn more nuances and what it takes to be a lead guard in the NBA.

Amen Thompson’s creativity as a passer is second to none in this draft. His upside as a playmaker is super high given his ability to pressure the rim and his elite passing ability. He averaged 9 assists in the OTE Finals. He also had a 2.08 assist to turnover ratio in the finals. pic.twitter.com/h1lsSKuMKH

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) March 8, 2023

Defense

Thompson was good as the point-of-attack defender for the City Reapers. In the finals he averaged 1.4 in stocks. He has elite defensive tools and shows great instincts in the passing lanes. His great lateral quickness and fluid hips allows him to keep ball-handlers in front of him.

At 6-foot-7, he’s extremely versatile, as he can defend positions one through three effectively and fours in a pinch. Despite him having elite tools, he still has more lapses than you’d like. There are questions about his team defense as he tends to miss, or is late to making the proper rotation.

I believe once he’s in a NBA setting, he’ll become a much more fundamental defender while still being able to play freely and utilizing his great defensive instincts.

Amen Thompson has some of the best defensive tools amongst all guards eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft. Has the lateral quickness to keep ball-handlers in front of him and has the size / length to alter shots on the perimeter and the interior. Should only get better as a defender. pic.twitter.com/UhJrXMIGj3

— Global Scouting (@GlobalScouting_) March 9, 2023

Overall

Thompson didn’t play his best in the finals, but it’s a great sign that he can still be extremely productive when he’s not scoring the ball efficiently. The passing talent was the skill that stood out most to me and shooting was the area he struggled with the most.

It’s worth noting that this is likely the last time we’ll see the star guard play in a five-on-five setting until the summer league. Private team workouts and the interview process could very well be the difference maker in him getting drafted No. 3 overall, or him getting drafted No. 6 overall. How much will his final performance play a factor in his stock? Time will tell.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.