Nobody in the NBA right now wants to play the Houston Rockets, the current 2-seed in the West. The biggest reason may be Amen Thompson, who is flourishing in his second year. Thompson’s play has caught the eye of everyone around the league, including Danny Green, who appeared on The Kevin O’Connor Show yesterday to talk about how high he is on the young forward.
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O’Connor asked Green to project Thompson’s ceiling, and he made a comparison that, though lofty, makes a lot of sense.
AMEN THOMPSON!!!
Amen talk opened today’s pod — Danny Green compared him to Andre Iguodala. https://t.co/NCaN2Sq14O pic.twitter.com/mIcp0fGPv3
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 28, 2025
“When I look at Amen Thompson, for some reason Andre Iguodala comes to mind. I can see that being his ceiling, he can be that type of player. Iggy came in very athletic—long arms, wings defender, became an All-Star at one point in Philly… he’s athletic enough to play all five positions. He’s quick enough, he can jump, he can play the 4 or 5, he can be a roll lob threat guy, he’s just athletic as hell.”
Thompson definitely shares some similar athletic and defensive traits with a young Iguodala. As part of a young, ascending Rockets team, he may get to taste team success even earlier than the four-time champ did, as Iguodala only won one playoff series in his first 10 seasons in the league.
Amen Thompson is evolving before our eyes
Thompson showed flashes during his rookie year and earlier this season of being a special two-way player like Iguodala, but he’s leveled up significantly in January. He’s averaging 19.2 points per game this month, a stretch which has seen the Rockets go 8-2 with two wins over the Grizzlies, two wins over the Cavs, and a win last night in Boston over the defending champion Celtics. Thompson scored a career-high 33 in that one, including the game-winner with .7 seconds left. Exulting in the win afterward, he said, “I feel like Kobe.”
Houston is 31-14 and a game ahead of Memphis for that 2-seed, and though they’re well ahead of schedule with Thompson and the rest of their young core, they could have what it takes to make a run this postseason, especially if they’re able to pull off a deal for an experienced vet like Zach LaVine or Jimmy Butler at the deadline. The Rockets are fourth in the NBA in defensive rating, and their recent string of wins over the top teams in the league show that they’re not afraid of anybody.
If Thompson can continue his rapid development, the sky is the limit for Ime Udoka’s club.
