Houston Rockets News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) warms up prior to the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Toyota Center. Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Amen Thompson's point guard development has one massive ally

By Sean Keane | Last updated Oct 28, 2025 11:58 PM ET

The Houston Rockets are taking a chance by starting Amen Thompson at point guard to start the season. The presence of Steven Adams at center should be a huge help as he learns the new position.

Thompson has started the Rockets' first three games at point guard, logging eight assists in Monday's 137-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The 22-year-old didn't commit a single turnover, a big improvement from his six assists and six turnovers in the first two games, though he still hasn't made a three-pointer.

Amen Thompson's shooting doesn't have to hold him back

The knock on Thompson isn't his passing ability, though he doesn't have much experience playing point guard. The issue is Thompson's poor outside shooting, where he's 0-for-9 from behind the arc this season. Last year, Thompson shot 27.5% from deep and for his career, he's a 20.9% shooter.

But Thompson's also highly athletic and lightning-fast. He took 5.7 shots per game within five feet of the hoop last season and shot 69.1%, racking up 138 dunks. He can be prone to turnovers, but opposing defenders can't press him too loosely or Thompson can zoom past them for easy buckets.

Twin getting shiiffttyyy ‍ pic.twitter.com/eXsnJpYqmN
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 28, 2025

Steven Adams has helped many non-shooting point guards thrive

Getting Thompson free to use his athletic ability is a huge part of Adams' value. The 6-foot-11, 265-pound Adams might be the hardest screen-setter in the NBA, making it very tough for defenders to stick on Thompson when the big Kiwi gets in their way. Even if Thompson's man can navigate his screen, Adams is great at finding angles to get his guard an extra step, which is all Thompson needs.

Adams started his career playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder with Russell Westbrook, another hyper-athletic guard who wasn't much of an outside shooter (30.6 career three-point percentage). But Adams cleared space for Westbrook's forays to the hoop, as well as helping Westbrook's triple-double numbers by blocking out the other team's rebounders.

When Adams was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, he linked up with another athletic guard with a shaky jumper. Ja Morant went from 19.1 PPG to 27.4 PPG after Adams arrived in his third season, winning Most Improved Player and finishing seventh in MVP voting. Memphis went from 38-34 to 56-26.

The other benefit of having Adams is his incredibly offensive rebounding. He led the NBA in offensive boards in 2021-22, and while he's not playing as many minutes, his offensive rebounding rate has been increasing every season since 2019-20. That's why missed shots aren't as costly for the Rockets as they are for other teams.

Houston would love to see Thompson become a shooting threat. Until he does, pairing with Adams will give him a nice boost.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

More must-reads: