Sunday’s summer-league matchup in Las Vegas was supposed to be a battle of the Thompson twins, with Houston’s top rookie, Amen Thompson, facing Detroit’s Ausar Thompson in a matchup of two of the 2023 NBA draft’s top-five rookies from the first round.
That meeting, however, will likely need to wait until the 2023-24 regular season after Amen Thompson sprained his left ankle late in Friday’s thrilling Rockets victory over Portland.
Nonetheless, the Rockets do appear likely to still have Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, and rookie forward Cam Whitmore leading the charge. Smith scored a game-high 33 points along with the game-winning buzzer-beater on Friday night, and the No. 3 overall pick from the 2022 draft would love to build on that with another strong showing.
“I’m 20 years old,” the second-year forward told reporters postgame regarding his decision to play in summer league.
“Why wouldn’t I play? We were 22-60 last year. My rookie year wasn’t perfect, so why not get out here and get reps? Play with my new teammates, play with my new coaches.”
Jabari Smith Jr. on why he's playing in Summer League:
"I'm 20 years old. Why wouldn't I play? We were 22-60 last year. My rookie year wasn't perfect, so why not get out here and get reps, play with my new teammates and coaches."
📺 https://t.co/6n0o1H51r1 pic.twitter.com/f2wvxmLmnn
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) July 8, 2023