What To Expect From Amen Thompson In His Rookie Year

With the fourth pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the Houston Rockets drafted Amen Thompson. How will he look in his rookie year?

Amen Thompson is one of the most unique prospects we have seen in the last decade due to his combination of generational athleticism, passing ability, and size.

The Houston Rockets drafted the 6-foot-7 point guard with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, as expected heading into draft night. Thompson is pretty unique due to his size and talent, but due to the lackluster jump-shot, it can be a bit tricky to figure out how he’ll consistently be effective when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands.

The Rockets started off free agency by signing Fred VanVleet to a three-year, 130 million dollar contract, with the final year being a team option. With Houston willing to sign him to that big of a contract, it’s clear that he’ll be given the starting spot on the team to start the year which’ll likely mean Thompson will have to develop off the bench for at least his first year. This could be a good and bad thing as long as they allow him to play through his mistakes and be properly used.

The 6-foot-7 lead guard is a walking paint touch and has the ability to create open shots for his teammates. Having mentors like Jeff Green, Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks should be pretty beneficial for his career as they've all been on winning teams and know what it takes to win games. From what I’ve heard, Thompson is an absolute basketball junkie and his knowledge for the history of basketball is off the charts.

It’ll be interesting to see how the jump-shot develops as that’s a big swing skill for him in the NBA and if he can become at least average from the outside then he has superstar potential. The OTE prospect will obviously have his ups and downs throughout the season with the rebuilding Rockets. But it’s extremely rare to see someone at 6-foot-7 have generational athleticism and great playmaking skills.

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