What Do Amen Thompson’s Next Steps Toward Stardom Look Like?

There are many reasons to tune into Houston Rockets games this season. Perhaps you enjoy defense and want to see one of the best groups in the league make life hard for opposing offenses. Maybe you enjoy Alperen Şengün galloping to openings, Jalen Green bursting into the lane or Dillon Brooks getting under the skin of every fanbase in the NBA.

But one of the season’s best stories is Amen Thompson’s ascension.

It’s hard to really tell you what position Thompson plays. Some nights, you can see him roaming around off-ball in the dunker spot or springing into action off of backdoor and 45-cuts from advantages the Rockets’ creators open up. On other nights, he’s a secondary ball-handler, using his athleticism to get into the paint and finish around the basket while making passes to show off his cerebral playmaking ability. Every night, you’ll see his defensive repertoire and transition dominance — both areas that have become calling cards early in his career.

Thompson’s primary flaw, shooting the basketball, hasn’t stopped him from dominating. Despite shooting 25 percent from three this season on low volume, he’s putting up career numbers across the board. He recently posted a triple-double versus the Cleveland Cavaliers before following it up with a career-high 33 points against the Boston Celtics — punctuated by a game-winning jumper.

Since becoming a starter in place of the injured Jabari Smith Jr. 11 games ago, Thompson is averaging 18.5 points (62.3 percent true shooting), 10.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.2 blocks.

After a quick search on StatHead, I found only seven players even close to those statistical numbers before turning 25: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Charles Barkley, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Jalen Johnson, Scottie Barnes and Bam Adebayo.

Those statistical filters aren’t the be-all, end-all of analysis. Still, it’s undeniably an impressive list: three league MVPs, one Hall of Fame big man, a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and two blossoming young All-Stars.

As was the case with most of them, shooting the ball isn’t why they’re renowned. And whenever a young player with a questionable jumper begins to blossom, you often hear: “If only he could shoot.” For the most part, that group is the exception to the rule. They found other ways to win.

So, can Thompson, like them, be an exception to the rule with his unbelievable skills? Or will he have to evolve to reach his eventual ceiling?

Thompson’s Rim Pressure

It’s hard to compare Thompson’s eventual ceiling to that of Antetokounmpo, Webber, Garnett or Barkley. The latter three played in a different era where shooting wasn’t as required, while Antetokounmpo is five inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than Thompson. Thompson isn’t a back-to-the-basket player like Webber and doesn’t have Garnett’s midrange shot creation.

But let’s look deeper.

There is something to be learned from this category of players. They were all elite in transition and found ways to push the pace, even in high-leverage playoff environments. And they all could apply incredible pressure on the rim. Both are areas Thompson excels.

Fifty-seven percent of his shots come at the rim and he makes 73 percent of them, which ranks in the 98th and 85th percentile, respectively, according to Cleaning the Glass.

While many of these finishes are in transition — Thompson is among the top 25 in total fast-break points — he’s also shown a propensity to get to the basket in the half-court. He’s already so advanced as a screener and cutter. He has excellent spatial awareness, allowing him to slip between the crevices of defenses and use his athleticism to punch gaps others can’t.

This makes his lack of shooting less pronounced. He burns opponents for sagging off by maneuvering around, through or over defenders. Helping his case is teams becoming much more creative with how they use non-spacing perimeter players.

The Rockets are no exception. They deploy him as a vertical spacing threat next to Şengün. Their two-man game has been extremely fruitful, with Houston owning a plus-11.1 net rating whenever they share the floor. That’s 12th among 149 two-man lineups with at least 750 minutes together this season. Thompson is a star off the ball. He applies his aerial prowess and movement skills to become a threat, despite the absence of a reliable jumper.

Perhaps, in those ways, his game does resemble a young Barkley. During his heyday, Barkley was a monster on the glass, one of the best at-rim finishers in NBA history, a springy, athletic weapon in transition, and had the feel and touch to make high-level passes.

It’s not a one-to-one comparison. Plus, it was a different era, which allowed Barkley to thrive without much of a jump shot. But watching these highlights, you can see a similar route toward stardom for Thompson.

The Non-Shooting Wing Creators

In recent years, we’ve seen an influx of non-shooting wing creators finding unique ways to succeed on the court. Barnes, Johnson and Ben Simmons are the most pronounced recent examples. But even Draymond Green, Pascal Siakam and Adebayo — smaller bigs who can fall in this category because of how much they handle the ball — have found paths to produce star-level impact without a consistent jump shot.

Of course, they all have tried to develop outside jumpers and produced mixed results. Green had one season as an elite outside shooter, but it’s been scattered and inconsistent otherwise. The same can be said for Siakam, although he’s enjoying a great shooting season in 2024-25 (41.8 percent from deep). Adebayo has recently tried stretching the floor, but still doesn’t command the attention of defenses.

Simmons’ struggles to take and make (but mostly take) outside shots is incredibly well-documented. Barnes and Johnson are younger, and their journeys are yet to be fully ironed out. Still, they’ve both taken steps to become more proficient from outside, even if neither would qualify as a good shooter to this point. How far do they end up progressing?

Two qualities stand out among all these players: developing counters and a catch-and-shoot jumper.

Thompson is working to address those areas. On the ball, when teams dare him to shoot by going under screens, he uses that space to get downhill and either finish at the rim or from the short midrange, where he’s taking 24 percent of his shots and hitting 46 percent of them That’s not a dissimilar approach to what prime Simmons did with the Philadelphia 76ers or Johnson does with the Atlanta Hawks nowadays.

The short midrange craft is important to develop because as Thompson is fed more on-ball opportunities, teams will pack the paint more frequently, and he’ll have to find a counter.

Off the ball, the catch-and-shoot stuff is a work in progress. He’s knocking down 32 percent of his corner threes and has only attempted 40 total this season. He takes them with confidence and if he can incorporate it as a legitimate a tool, it’ll make him all the more versatile.

Siakam is perhaps the best example of shooting maturation here. While his 3-point shot has waned, he’s developed an excellent midrange game by combining his burst, agility and footwork to create shots. His soft touch has helped him become somewhat of a specialist in that area. His midrange frequency and effiiciency gradually increased as his career progressed.

Another name worth mentioning is Scottie Pippen. He added counters throughout his career, peaking as an MVP candidate and 20-point scorer with his blend of defense, playmaking and midrange craft.

Part of me believes Thompson can follow suit because of his touch around the basket and excellent footwork.

There are many ways to survive and thrive as a non-shooting wing creator, even in the modern NBA. But the non-negotiable is becoming as versatile as possible to help compensate for the lack of outside shooting. The most common route is a midrange game, which seems like Thompson’s natural next step.

Blazing His Own Trail

None of the stars mentioned alongside Thompson are one-for-one comparisons. Yet referencing them helps contextualize what we’re seeing on the court with such a rare set of skills in a second-year player like Thompson.

Sure, he may have shades of Pippen’s defensive prowess, Barkley’s transition feel and Simmons’ downhill dominance. But that doesn’t mean that he’ll become an MVP, a six-time champion or fail under the pressure of trying to develop a jump shot. Finding new avenues to succeed will materialize uniquely.

Regardless, it’s evident his two-way brilliance makes him a rising star. In just two seasons, he’s become must-watch television and a massive part of the 32-14 Rockets turning the corner as major players in the Western Conference. He’s already discovering ways toward high-level impact. The ceiling is the roof.

How he reaches that ceiling? Well, we’ll just have to see how it plays out. And maybe, a nod to some of these past stars might help him get there.