The Houston Rockets powered their way back into the NBA Playoffs in 2024-25. After four consecutive seasons in the lottery, and dropping to as low as 17 wins in the 2020-21 season, they roared back with a 52-30 campaign that saw them win the Southwest Division and finish second in the Western Conference, behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder. It took one of the best seasons in NBA history and the excellence of an MVP for anyone to top the Rockets this regular season.
They would dearly love for the season to still be going on. Unfortunately, a tough first-round loss in seven games to the playoff-veteran Golden State Warriors ended their year earlier than anticipated. The rate of growth has been tremendous, but playoff experience comes the hard way.
Houston’s substantial developments, though, are being noted around the league. And this week, one of the best architects of their future received a notable individual accolade.
Thompson Claims Defensive Honour
Amen Thompson, a second-year forward out of the Overtime Elite program drafted one pick ahead of his twin brother Ausar with the fourth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, was this week named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team.
Alongside Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks, Draymond Green of the Warriors, Luguentz Dort of the Thunder and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thompson has been chosen as one of the five best defensive players in the entire NBA. It is an honour almost entirely unprecedented for a sophomore.
The NBA has been picking All-NBA Defensive First and Second Teams since the 1968-69 season, for a total of 560 picks in total. Of those 560, only four have made either of the All-Rookie teams in their first two years; David Robinson and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, the aforementioned Evan Mobley (who was also voted Defensive Player of the Year this season), and Victor Wembanyama last year.
With this award, Thompson therefore joins a list of two Hall-of-Famers and two of the best young players in the world. He is in elite company. And he got there through his own hard work.
High Praise For The Sophomore
Voting for the All-Defensive Teams is conducted by a panel of 100 NBA writers and broadcasters. But player peer support for Thompson’s defence recently came from none other than Steph Curry, the face of the NBA over the past ten years.
After Curry’s Warriors overcame the Rockets in their first-round series, Curry was effusive with his praise of Houston’s defence, but particularly that of Thompson, about whom he was highly complimentary.
“You kind of saw him develop in front of everybodyâs eyes. Heâs a dawg. He showed that all seven games, and heâs gonna be a problem, for sure⦠Defensively, heâs a freak athlete, and I think he loves the challenge and loves to be in the fight.”
– Steph Curry about Amen Thompson
Thompson’s season averages of 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game speak to his overall impact on the court, but it is the words of those like Curry who actually go against him that count the most. By virtue of his size, length and athleticism, Thompson has the physical tools to cover a ton of ground and across all sorts of match-ups, but this is true of many players in the NBA. Not all actually put forth the nightly effort required to excel at it. Thompson does.
Recent All-Defensive picks have included Eric Bledsoe, Patrick Beverley (both 2019-20), Mathisse Thybulle, Ben Simmons (both 2020-21) and Herb Jones (2023-24). None of those players are as regarded as they were back then, and two of them are out of the NBA altogether. Defensive skill and effort are not transient, but favourable situations can be. All-Defensive team wins do not have the same longevity as All-Star selections.
Thompson’s all-around game, though, will keep him in and around this conversation for a decade. As one of the best pieces in a young Rockets core that is going places, he and they are here to stay. A whole generation of opponents are going to learn the same lessons Steph Curry already did.
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