Before a recent game against the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson intently watched a YouTube highlight reel on his cell phone. It was of two-time NBA champion point guard Rajon Rondo running the fast break, throwing behind-the-back passes, and rebounding over giants.
Whether it’s his two favorites — Rondo and Russell Westbrook — or LeBron James, John Wall or Chris Paul, the unexpected Rockets starting point guard has made it a routine to watch highlights from a variety of esteemed floor generals.
“I love watching those type of guys to see how they attack when given the opportunity,” Thompson told Andscape. “I also like how they can command the floor. I’ve been a LeBron, Westbrook and John Wall fan. And then I started watching Rondo and was like, ‘Yo, this man is nice.’
“I knew he was nice, but I didn’t know he was that nice,” he continued his praise for Rondo, who played in the NBA from 2006 to 2022. “But I started watching a lot of him because of the way he impacts the game while they are letting him shoot, but he still gets to where he wants and distributes and grabs 20 rebounds at 6-foot-2.”
The Rockets entered training camp with an easy plan to start veteran Fred VanVleet at point guard. However, the 2022 NBA All-Star suffered a torn right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during an offseason workout in September. He had surgery Sept. 25 and is expected to miss this season.
While it was close to training camp, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone still had time to make a trade for a veteran point guard or sign a free agent. Stone and Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, however, opted for the 6-foot-7 Thompson. The Rockets used Thompson, 22, at small forward during his first two NBA seasons.
This season, Thompson had All-Star dreams as a shooting guard, but with VanVleet out, he has sacrificed to play point guard. Thompson has fared well, averaging career highs of 17.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game entering Thursday.
“He’s handling it great,” VanVleet told Andscape about Thompson. “It’s a lot of processing and downloading information. But you see him getting more comfortable game by game. It’s a big responsibility, but he’s up for it.”
Stone told Andscape: “We’ve been happy with Amen. I’ve been happy with our team. We like the young guys and their progression. I’d rather have Fred healthy. But we all would. Amen would. Everyone would. No one wants to see their teammate not healthy.
“But Ime is right about this one, ‘No one gives an [expletive].’ So, we got to play through.”
After Fred VanVleet went down with a knee injury, the Houston Rockets put their trust at point guard in Amen Thompson.
Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images
The Rockets selected Thompson with the fourth pick in the 2023 NBA draft out of Overtime Elite as a swingman known for his athleticism and defense. Thompson was named to the 2025 NBA All-Defensive First Team after smothering forwards and guards last season thanks to athleticism, great feet and a 7-foot wingspan.
But in the back of Stone’s mind, he believed Thompson could play point guard in a pinch if needed.
“He’s been playing point guard his whole life. When I looked back at his AAU footage, he was on the ball,” Stone said. “We always had him as a 1 [point guard]. That was the super thing about Amen: he’s a really good basketball player.”
Stone was correct. Amen’s older brother, Troy Thompson Jr., told Andscape that Amen and twin brother Ausar, a Detroit Pistons forward, played point guard in youth basketball in the Oakland, California, area.
Troy Thompson Jr. said his father, Troy Thompson Sr., made a point to have his twin sons play both guard positions during their youth. Little did the father know that both sons would grow to 6-7.
During their youth, the Thompson twins idolized James and Dwyane Wade during their Miami Heat years and aspired to be playmakers like them. Troy Thompson Jr. said he noticed early on that Amen he had the talent to play point guard.
“There were times where Ausar was the point guard and Amen was the shooting guard,” said Thompson Jr., who played guard at HBCU Prairie View A&M. “So, when they switched roles, Amen started having a bigger impact. The next thing they did was learn how to be combo guards and switch off from lead ballhandler to secondary ballhandler.
“And when they did that, they became the most impactful players on the court pretty much every game I’ve seen them play in before making it to the NBA. Then in the NBA, they’ve basically been a battery for both teams to make guys play harder and boost defenses drastically.”
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Amen Thompson’s ability to play point guard should not have been a surprise based on the all-around game he’d shown with the Rockets before this season. From the start of January to the end of last season, Thompson was one of four players with 10 or more games played to average at least 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis. Dating back to the 1983-84 season, Thompson was also just the third NBA player to have reached his total of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks through his first 146 games. The others were Lionel Simmons and Chris Webber.
While challenging, Thompson has embraced the unexpected point guard opportunity despite acknowledging he had just “a little experience” from his OTE days. VanVleet advised Thompson to not overthink playing point guard. Taking some of the stress off for Thompson is that teammates Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Reed Sheppard also can advance the ball up court to start the offense.
“It was a heartbreaker for sure because you know how much Fred can bring to the team with his leadership and his skills,” Thompson said. “But at the same time, it’s a next-man-up kind of thing. He wouldn’t want anyone to sulk off of him, so it’s the next man up. [Udoka] just told me, ‘You were going to get more on-ball reps anyway, but now you and Reed’s reps are going to be boosted.’ I was just excited for the opportunity.”
Adding to the challenge of playing point guard is that Thompson is still vying to be an NBA All-Defensive Team player. He was playing a career-high 36.3 minutes per game entering Thursday. Thompson says he is among the “top on the team” in miles run per game. He’s also had some cramping issues due to it being early in the season, nervousness and overcompensating, he said.
While heavy, Thompson has embraced the challenge on both ends of the floor.
“I’m just playing basketball,” Thompson said. “I don’t think about it. When I think about it, that’s when it doesn’t go as well. I know I guard the best player. I know I need to do whatever the team needs me to do, whether its [being in the] dunker [spot], if it’s starting a set, getting people in position to score. …
“I’m not exhausted at all. I actually feel kind of great.”
Amen Thompson (center) wants to be an NBA All-Defensive Team player and embraces the challenges on both ends of the court.
Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
The Rockets finished the 2024-25 season with the Western Conference’s second-best record and No. 2 playoff seed. That was all for naught when the Rockets were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors, their bitter rivals, in the first round.
Despite VanVleet being out, the Rockets still have championship aspirations with Thompson, Sengun and Durant leading the way. Success from the evolving and sacrificing Thompson will play a major role in the Rockets’ title desires.
Expect Thompson to watch more YouTube highlights from his favorite point guards to aid his development.
“I always have goals to set,” Thompson said. “I want to be an All-Star. I want to be an All-Defensive Team player. I have big goals, but at the same time my biggest goal is to win a championship.
“We have two of the top 15 players [Durant and Sengun]. We have great defenders. We have dudes who want to go to war for one another.”
Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.