One Area Amen Thompson Needs to Improve Next Season for the Houston Rockets

When the lottery results started to come in for the 2023 draft, fans across the country were focused on one player, and that player was Victor Wembanyama. The Rockets were tied for the best odds at the No. 1 pick as they finished with one of the three worst records in the NBA the prior season.

The Rockets' hope of finally getting the No. 1 pick was dashed as their name came up at No. 4. Many believed that the Rockets would miss out on the top three prospects of that draft, with Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and Wembanyama seen as the best prospects.

Wembayama has been as good as advertised. Miller had a solid rookie season and an injury-plagued second season, and Henderson has struggled for most of his short career up until this point. The Rockets felt going into the draft that, even though they fell to the fourth spot, they still drafted one of the best players in the draft, Amen Thompson.

Going into the draft, there wasn't much doubt about Amen's abilities. Amen Thompson was seen as one of the most athletic players in the entire draft, but some felt the league he played in, Overtime Elite, was not on the same level as college basketball or even the G League Ignite.

After a slow start to his rookie season due to injuries, Thompson started to show everyone why he was a top-five pick. Thompson displayed the athleticism everyone knew about but also became one of the best young defenders in the NBA. When Alperen Sengun suffered a season-ending injury in March of that season, Thompson was inserted into the starting lineup, and he was a significant reason why the Rockets were able to go on an 11-game winning streak.

Thompson was expected to have an even bigger role in the 2024-25 season, and he hit the ground running. Thompson started the season as the Rockets' sixth man but finished the season as one of the most important players on the entire team.

After Jabari Smith's injury in January, Thompson entered the starting lineup, and even when Smith returned, Thompson stayed a starter for the rest of the season. Thompson would go on to win a Defensive Player of the Month award and make First Team All-Defense. Thompson also shined in the playoffs as he went toe to toe with Step Curry as he helped the Rockets force a Game 7.

Despite the tough first-round loss, the future is bright for the Rockets' defensive stopper. Now heading into his third season, Thompson is expected to take an even bigger leap in 2025-26. For Thompson to take that leap, he will need to improve in certain areas. In the next installment, we focus on the one area that Amen Thompson needs to improve on.

Becoming a Better Mid-Range and 3-Point Shooter

As mentioned earlier, Thompson excelled on the defensive end as he became the Rockets' No. 1 defender as the season went on. One area, however, he still struggled with was his outside shooting, specifically his shooting from 3-point range.

Thompson did improve from his rookie season as he shot only 13.8% from beyond to 27.5% in his second season. Thompson made 17 more 3-pointers this season, but to take the next step, he will need to become more of a threat from beyond the arc.

Opposing teams realized how much of a threat Thompson was in the paint and made it a point to drop their defender into the paint, which was usually the center, to combat Thompson's scoring at the basket. Even developing a mid-range shot could go a long way into opening up Thompson's offensive game.

Despite his lack of outside scoring, Thompson still shot over 55 percent from the field and increased his points per game from 9.5 to 14.1. Thompson is on the verge of superstardom, and for him to get to that level, he will have to become a bigger threat from the outside.