What do you expect from Amen Thompson this season?

[dballislife]

another nice jump but not a huge one imo because the team is deep and he cant shoot

[GreatWhiteStiff]

Top 3 two way player in the NBA. He'll be a young Kawhi with a lagging 3PT shot (even though he'll improve from last season).

Insane take.

[Sane]

Top 3 two way player in the NBA. He'll be a young Kawhi with a lagging 3PT shot (even though he'll improve from last season).

I'm very high on the kid, but he'd have to jump one of Wemby, Giannis, AD...and hold off Chet, Mobley, Williams, JJJ, etc. Tough ask for next season.

Tbh I wasn't considering rim protectors because just by playing that role a mediocre rim protector will have the same raw overall absolute impact as a great wing defender.

So I'll adjust to say: he'll be a top 2 two-way player at PG/SG/SF/PF positions.

[Sane]

Top 3 two way player in the NBA. He'll be a young Kawhi with a lagging 3PT shot (even though he'll improve from last season).

Insane take.

If you check my takes from last summer, like me you wouldn't be surprised by the hype right now. I fully expect most people to be innocently surprised by what they see next season because I see the comps and I can tell people just haven't watched him enough.

Take this Marion comp for example. It's an absurdity. He was a better ball handler as a rookie than Marion was in his final seasons. If Marion had that, he would be twice the offensive player.

As for the Kawhi comparison, it's easy. He's at least as good defensively. His 3PT% is lagging but that's more than made up by Amen's dramatically better rebounding/shot blocking. Amen is also a one man transition nightmare for opponents due to his historically elite speed which I don't THINK was ever a Kawhi specialty.

[FrodoBaggins]

Let's pump the brakes a little. Comparisons to Marion, Josh Smith, and Gerald Wallace are more than respectful. He's not clearly above any of those guys; his ceiling of potential could surpass, but his floor certainly isn't at their level. Suggesting his worst case scenario or outcome is becoming one of them is a little ridiculous.

He could develop like Kawhi or Hakeem. He could fall short of those guys listed above. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

[drone3]

Just surround the kid with shooters. All Star in the making

[Sane]

Let's pump the brakes a little. Comparisons to Marion, Josh Smith, and Gerald Wallace are more than respectful. He's not clearly above any of those guys; his ceiling of potential could surpass, but his floor certainly isn't at their level. Suggesting his worst case scenario or outcome is becoming one of them is a little ridiculous.

He could develop like Kawhi or Hakeem. He could fall short of those guys listed above. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

What a silly analysis. This is a prediction thread. If we wait and see there's no prediction.

He's already at least as good as all those players were in their prime and he's not in his prime.

What's your prediction for him next season? Commit to something.

[Mr Puddles]

The Detlef Schrempf comparisons made by some in this thread are spot on. Not only do both players possess a striking physical resemblance, their games are almost identical. The word Schrempf in German even translates to アーメン in Japanese, which in turn translates from Japanese to English as Amen.

[NoStatsGuy]

Top 3 two way player in the NBA. He'll be a young Kawhi with a lagging 3PT shot (even though he'll improve from last season).

Insane take.

If you check my takes from last summer, like me you wouldn't be surprised by the hype right now. I fully expect most people to be innocently surprised by what they see next season because I see the comps and I can tell people just haven't watched him enough.

Take this Marion comp for example. It's an absurdity. He was a better ball handler as a rookie than Marion was in his final seasons. If Marion had that, he would be twice the offensive player.

As for the Kawhi comparison, it's easy. He's at least as good defensively. His 3PT% is lagging but that's more than made up by Amen's dramatically better rebounding/shot blocking. Amen is also a one man transition nightmare for opponents due to his historically elite speed which I don't THINK was ever a Kawhi specialty.

Bro averaged 12 points you expect him to be kawhi next year? You are also nitpicking and just picking the things hes good at. A lagging 3 point shot is not made up by shotblocking or rebounding. if you suck on offense, you suck on offense. if people can sag off and let you shot and dont need to close out that hurts the team regardless how good you are on defense.

Defensively i see the comparison but my guy has ways to go on offense to be even remotely close to kawhi. its not gonna happen overnight. i expect improvment from amen but lets start with hitting a jump shot before we talk about compaing him to one of the 2 way goats. One man transition nightmare is also nothing too special anymore tbh. almost every young athlete in the NBA can convert in transition these days. I come across as a hater but i love amen and his game.

yall need to relax... if everything turns out well for him he has the ceiling of a Kawhi or PG but these guys needed 5,6 years to rerally arrive. i think you are going to be dissapointed next seasonw ith those expecatations.

also... you act like we dont watch basketball and you are the only one watching him. get outta here

[Rdude22]

Moderate expectations


All-nba 2nd team
All defensive 1st team
All-Star reserve
Top-10 MVP finalist
In-season tourney mvp
Western finals mvp
NBA finals mvp

Sounds about reasonable

[nate33]

Iguadola is a real good comparison.

There will always be a ceiling on Amen's offense because he'll never be a reliable shooter. You also don't really want to run the offense through him as a full time PG because, although a good ball-handler and passer, it's not like he's Jason Kidd or anything.

So on offense, he be a role-playing scorer who crashes the glass, runs the floor, and runs some secondary actions against an off-balance defense. That can still be a pretty good offensive player - but a guy who scores 18-22 points per game, not 30.

At the other end of the floor, he'll be an all-world defender unleashed to attack the opposition's primary ball-handler. He'll likely be the best perimeter defender in the league. That combination should make him a borderline All-Star this year, but it might take some team success for him to actually get into the All-Star games as defense-first guys usually get overlooked until they win enough to get the Draymond Green level of respect. Iggy made only 1 All-Star Game.

[Godymas]

it's hard to say because he will have a lesser role on offense due to playing with KD

On defense he set the bar with a 1st team all defense level performance, expecting him to be in the DPOY talks if he stays healthy

On offense, If he averages 16-8 that's a W. The efficiency is already pretty damn good.

[Sane]

Insane take.

If you check my takes from last summer, like me you wouldn't be surprised by the hype right now. I fully expect most people to be innocently surprised by what they see next season because I see the comps and I can tell people just haven't watched him enough.

Take this Marion comp for example. It's an absurdity. He was a better ball handler as a rookie than Marion was in his final seasons. If Marion had that, he would be twice the offensive player.

As for the Kawhi comparison, it's easy. He's at least as good defensively. His 3PT% is lagging but that's more than made up by Amen's dramatically better rebounding/shot blocking. Amen is also a one man transition nightmare for opponents due to his historically elite speed which I don't THINK was ever a Kawhi specialty.

Bro averaged 12 points you expect him to be kawhi next year? You are also nitpicking and just picking the things hes good at. A lagging 3 point shot is not made up by shotblocking or rebounding. if you suck on offense, you suck on offense. if people can sag off and let you shot and dont need to close out that hurts the team regardless how good you are on defense.

Defensively i see the comparison but my guy has ways to go on offense to be even remotely close to kawhi. its not gonna happen overnight. i expect improvment from amen but lets start with hitting a jump shot before we talk about compaing him to one of the 2 way goats. One man transition nightmare is also nothing too special anymore tbh. almost every young athlete in the NBA can convert in transition these days. I come across as a hater but i love amen and his game.

yall need to relax... if everything turns out well for him he has the ceiling of a Kawhi or PG but these guys needed 5,6 years to rerally arrive. i think you are going to be dissapointed next seasonw ith those expecatations.

also... you act like we dont watch basketball and you are the only one watching him. get outta here

Wow thanks for making the reply so easy.

1) thank you for proving you don't watch. He came off the bench for half a season and was never featured by the coach. They have already stated he'll be heavily featured next season. So reaching for that 12ppg stat is nighty hypocritical of you.

2) rebounding and shotblocking certainly makes up the on court two way impact vs shooting. Kawhi barely took 3's early on. No sh*t it doesn't impact your offense.

3) lol no dude. Two people you consider historically elite athletes have come out and said Amen is on another level. It's not like every other athletic guy. This guy could reasonably end up the most athletic player of all time.

4) These are not high expectations, it's in line with what any NBA player or coach said in public any time they were asked about him.

6) I never said no one watches, but there are people who clearly have not. If I come out and say Wemby reminds me of Zydrunas Illgauskas ceiling, the nicest thing you can say is that I must not have watched him.

I'm not even mad at you, I'm actually jealous because you will be wowed and excited at this addition to the NBA family - which is way more fun than being the "told you so" guy.

Just remember you heard it here first and don't cop out by saying I got lucky when I bump this thread. In the 2nd most packed paint in the NBA and without a jumper, Thompson dropped jaws throughout the NBA. With Durant on board and Green gone, watch what happens.

[Airmiess]

Im not sure he has Iggy BBIQ
the brothers seem to play off pure otherworldly athleticism.

[FrodoBaggins]

Let's pump the brakes a little. Comparisons to Marion, Josh Smith, and Gerald Wallace are more than respectful. He's not clearly above any of those guys; his ceiling of potential could surpass, but his floor certainly isn't at their level. Suggesting his worst case scenario or outcome is becoming one of them is a little ridiculous.

He could develop like Kawhi or Hakeem. He could fall short of those guys listed above. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

What a silly analysis. This is a prediction thread. If we wait and see there's no prediction.

He's already at least as good as all those players were in their prime and he's not in his prime.

What's your prediction for him next season? Commit to something.

Personally, I need another season or two like 2024-25 for me to say he's as good as Josh Smith and Gerald Wallace were in their primes. Shawn Marion was better than them, so even more for him.

BPM prime + peaks:

Wallace: +4.9 (2006); +3.3 (2006-2010)
Smith: +5.1 (2010); +3.3 (2008-2012)
Marion: +5.6 (2003); +4.3 (2001-2007); +4.6 (2003-2007)

Amen's on a good trajectory (+3.2 career BPM, +4.1 in 2024-25). I just need a greater sample size to buy that notion.

As for a prediction? I think he's more productive compared to last season due to the greater opportunity with Brooks gone. Statline looks similar to how it was when he started games: (16.0/9.2/4.9/1.7/1.6, 2.2 topg, 60.2% TS) [42 GP].

Small-to-marginal improvements in shooting; maybe 70-72% FT, 27-30% 3PT. He'll make improvements, but casuals won't notice it because it's not as obvious in the box score due to playing on a serious contender. Kind of like Evan Mobley after his rookie season, before he broke out last year.

[levon]

Atleast DPOY runner-up in case Wemby didn't get hurt. A top 5 Rockets all-time when it's all said and done along with Hakeem, Harden and Moses Malone maybe Yao Ming.

he just need a jump shot and a step back 3 and he would be better than harden.

Oh that's it?

[Bornstellar]

I really like Amen and if Spurs missed out on Wemby in 2023 he was most Spurs fans second choice. But man he is starting to get overrated quickly. I mean top 3 two way player in the game? Saying he could be better than Harden? That's crazy. He is an elite defensive player but he needs to improve dramatically on the other side of the ball before putting him in these top player convos

[bonita_the_frog]

Amen Thompson and KD are a match made in heaven, I expect they'll win a lot more games than everyone else.

[JRoy]

Top 3 two way player in the NBA. He'll be a young Kawhi with a lagging 3PT shot (even though he'll improve from last season).

Insane take.

If you check my takes from last summer, like me you wouldn't be surprised by the hype right now. I fully expect most people to be innocently surprised by what they see next season because I see the comps and I can tell people just haven't watched him enough.

Take this Marion comp for example. It's an absurdity. He was a better ball handler as a rookie than Marion was in his final seasons. If Marion had that, he would be twice the offensive player.

As for the Kawhi comparison, it's easy. He's at least as good defensively. His 3PT% is lagging but that's more than made up by Amen's dramatically better rebounding/shot blocking. Amen is also a one man transition nightmare for opponents due to his historically elite speed which I don't THINK was ever a Kawhi specialty.

Having a better handle than Marion is faint praise.

Marion and Thompson have some similarities, but it’s hard to find a great comparison for Thompson.

[jokeboy86]

His ceiling will probably be what people actually expected from Michael Kidd Gilchrist coming out of college so basically he can be a more athletic Bruce Bowen. I don't think his offense(shooting) will ever come around though. There was an article several years ago in The Ringer I think and it talked about forwards/shooting guards who couldn't shoot and the correlation between that and them being bad free throw shooter as well. I believe they said it was rare that for a wing/guard who shoots less than 70%(I think) at the line to become a good 3pt shooter. I think that why's they mentioned why there was always hope for someone like Kawhi to improve his jump shooting because even back in college he was at least at 70%. Amen was at 65% in OT Elite and in the league he's only been 68%.