The young Houston Rockets need a point guard of the future. With the No. 4 pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft, they may have found an ideal one to pair with their established young core of Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason.
Unlike 2022, when the board changed late and pre-draft favorite Paolo Banchero wasn’t available to Houston, 2023 front-runner Amen Thompson remained up for grabs. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone took full advantage by drafting the 20-year-old.
A 6-foot-7 point guard prospect, Thompson averaged 16.3 points (56.8% FG, 23.3% on 3-pointers), 6.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.4 steals and 28.2 minutes last season in the Overtime Elite professional basketball league. While his shot needs work, he’s an elite athlete who possesses strong playmaking and defensive versatility.
Should the shot ultimately improve, that could make Thompson a star-level lead guard, which the rebuilding Rockets sorely need. That’s a big part of the case for his upside, which analysts such as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony have described as second-highest in the 2023 draft class (trailing only Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick).
From Thompson’s perspective, he’s joining an organization in one of the NBA’s bigger markets — and one that particularly needs his skills. As a result, he seemed quite happy to join the Rockets.
Here’s a look at his immediate reaction after being selected by Houston during the 2023 NBA draft at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.