In 2022, most pre-draft reporting pointed to Duke’s Paolo Banchero as the preferred pick of the Rockets. Thanks to late drama involving the picks in front of them, he wasn’t on the board for Houston.
This time, in 2023, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone picked the player who appeared to be his pre-draft man: 20-year-old Amen Thompson, who could slide in as Houston’s point guard of the future.
Later in the first round, Stone added a surprise of his own: the selection of Villanova forward Cam Whitmore at No. 20. A few days earlier, Whitmore was believed to be in competition with Thompson for Houston’s higher selection.
Both Thompson and Whitmore are expected to debut for the Rockets in the NBA’s 2023 Las Vegas Summer League in July.
In a virtual press conference after Thursday’s draft, here’s what Stone told the media after emerging from his Toyota Center war room. Stone, Thompson and Whitmore will hold an in-person press conference on Monday afternoon.