Rockets Show Belief in Amen Thompson

Houston Rockets second-year pro Amen Thompson has shown a lot of promise this season for the team.

In the middle of the regular season, Thompson stepped into the starting lineup to replace an injured Jabari Smith Jr. and he never gave up spot after that.

Rockets general manager Rafael Stone thinks that there is a lot to like when it comes to Thompson and his trajectory moving forward.

"He's already become a really good NBA player," Stone said via MacMahon. "He should be much, much better than this year next year, and that should go on for the foreseeable future. Great kid, works really hard, is really smart. Everything we've asked him to do, he's done. He's done it quickly and at times shockingly easily."

Thompson is at the forefront of the team's next phase of the rebuild, and the Rockets look at him as one of the primary pieces of the squad moving forward.

If Thompson continues to play like he has over the last two seasons (especially this one), he has a chance to potentially be the face of the franchise for the Rockets someday soon, next to Alperen Sengun, if he isn't considered that already.

Thompson has enjoyed highs and lows during the series with the Golden State Warriors, but for his first taste of the postseason, he has done a decent job for himself, proving that the Rockets were smart to use the No. 4 overall pick to choose him in the 2023 NBA Draft.