What do you expect from Amen Thompson this season?

[Moahst]

18 PPG / 10 RPG / 6 APG 60 FG% on a team winning a lot of games while guarding the other team's best player.

[ShootersShoot]

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.

I actually like the josh smith and wallace comparisons. Amen is not inefficient like smith..not as turnover prone like him either, and is a much better playmaker than wallace. So to me he is a more ideal player overall than either of those guys.

[LockoutSeason]

He doesn’t even need a 3-point shot with Durant on the squad.

[JRoy]

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.

I actually like the josh smith and wallace comparisons. Amen is not inefficient like smith..not as turnover prone like him either, and is a much better playmaker than wallace. So to me he is a more ideal player overall than either of those guys.

He’s a much better ball handler than either guy.

[floppymoose]

I have him on my dynasty team, so i expect him to be out for the season.

[NoStatsGuy]

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.

since you are emotionally very attached to this i refrain from replying to your post. One thing i learned on realgm dont argue with emotional people lol

just one thing. trust me, i did not hear it here first. you are not a genius for having that take

[Trey24]

I expect bricks all around, from him and anyone he is guarding. In all seriousness I expect improved shooting, if he unlocks that he will be a superstar.

[bonita_the_frog]

Nobody has ever had a better body or name than Amen "the body" Thompson.

KD is the luckiest man on earth.

[zero rings]

His shot is broken and that puts a hard cap on his ceiling. People expecting Amen to be a great scorer are going to be disappointed imo. He’s an amazing athlete, but he’s not some Giannis level behemoth. Players his size don’t score 20+ ppg without a jump shot.

He can still be a top 20-30 player with his defense and athleticism, but superstar is a reach.

[cupcakesnake]

Him and his brother should become the 2 best wing defenders in the NBA as soon as this season.

His offense has too many question marks to make a solid projection. I think it's unreasonable to think he'll be shooting the basketball at a high level anytime soon. Maybe he could develop a corner 3, but that wont make him an offensive superstar. I think the bigger questions is what can he do as a scorer inside 15 feet, and can he start collapsing defenses and playmaking more. Can you put the ball in his hands and produce any kind of reasonable offense. Can he leverage his athleticism more broadly on offense?

Durant should be a fantastic fit with Amen, if the Rockets want Amen to dribble the ball more. I'm hesitant to expect a massive leap into offensive all-star though. There's a real chance, but we need to see him figure out a few things first.

The other path is: Amen is basically the center on offense. Athletic rim running finisher who plays off playmaking from Fred and Sengun. The Rockets did that at times, and Amen would be like a 19-10 guy.

[ShootersShoot]

Can he be the rockets version of draymond green? A version that can give the team 15-17ppg at around 60% TS?

[JJ_PR]

Rockets are one of the more fascinating teams in the west. They have the talent to win their conference. They got Durant for a bag of chips.

[PistolPeteJR]

I don't see his jumper ever being good. The mechanics are too bad. He comes from privilege and resources yet its always been bad. He is getting over rated.

I mean if Lonzo Ball's shot is repairable so is Amen's.

[PostGameDaVinci]

The superstar expectations are insane. It's way more likely that he doesn't develop a consistent jumper, let alone an off the dribble jumper. He's also not an elite playmaker and doesn't have elite touch in the paint. His ceiling will be severely limited unless he can rework his jumper from the ground up.

His best comp in pre-injury Ben Simmons. Phenomenal athlete. Amazing in transition, but a broken jumper that limits their half court impact. Trade Ben's playmaking for Amen's raw explosiveness, but unfortunately playmaking is more valuable than raw explosiveness.

If he can take another step as a scorer/playmaker, I can see him sniffing an all-star team considering he's already an elite defender. FVV just tore his ACL so he'll certainly get even more reps to work things out.

[PostGameDaVinci]

I don't see his jumper ever being good. The mechanics are too bad. He comes from privilege and resources yet its always been bad. He is getting over rated.

I mean if Lonzo Ball's shot is repairable so is Amen's.

Lonzo was always a good shooter, his form just didn't work against NBA defenses. Amen has never been a good shooter.

[floppymoose]

Some non-shooters can become good shooters. Jason Richardson was a non-shooter entering the league. He later led the league in 3s made.

[Harry Palmer]

Is he a good kid and hard worker? I don't know anything about him (and his brother) but I know they have a ton of physical gifts. I LOVE defense, so I will have to watch him more. I think Hou is set to be the 2nd best team this year, if healthy of course

Good kid, I think so but too early to say. Hard worker, though, 100%. Apparently he (and his brother I think, less sure though) do nothing but eat, sleep and breathe basketball 24/7. Like they know all the players names and games from earlier eras, could probably hang in the PC board.

[FrodoBaggins]

There are no perfect one-to-one comparisons, but Amen shows some similarities to the following players:

- Shawn Marion
- Andre Igoudala
- Josh Smith
- Gerald Wallace

Hakeem went from a raw college player shooting 55% FT, to 65% early in the NBA, to 75% in the '90s. Reached as high as 78% I believe. I imagine his mid-range shooting touch progressed in line with his foul shooting. Karl Malone is another who made dramatic shooting improvements over his career.

Amen doesn't need a three-point shot if his on-ball slashing and playmaking are good enough, and coupled with a reliable mid-range counter for when the rim is blocked off. Dwyane Wade and, in more recent years, Jimmy Butler are prime examples. Thompson has shown some progression of touch from the short mid-range (SMR).

[kenwood3333]

Likely get exposed on the offensive end. He is a poor man's og anunoby.

[ConSarnit]

Some non-shooters can become good shooters. Jason Richardson was a non-shooter entering the league. He later led the league in 3s made.

JRich shot 40% from 3 in his final college season (on 3.7 3pa). He was miles ahead of Amen as a shooter entering the league.