Earlier this spring, the Houston Rockets didn’t win the decisive Game 7 of their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series versus the Golden State Warriors.
But for a relatively young team featuring numerous high draft picks from recent years, the Rockets did learn a lot about what they’re made of.
Specifically, as ESPN analyst Tim Legler pointed out on the ALL NBA Podcast, they learned quite a bit about rising star Amen Thompson. Legler’s observations:
I have such an indelible memory of the end of the year, that Game 7 against Golden State. The fact that Amen Thompson was more comfortable than any player on the floor, practically, outside of (Steph) Curry and (Jimmy) Butler, said a lot to me. He did everything in that game, with all that pressure. He’s going to be a superstar in this league, I believe it. And he’s going to get there sooner than later.
To Legler’s point, Thompson was magnificent in Game 7. In 37 minutes, the 22-year-old finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting (56.3%) while also grabbing 9 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists.
After a relatively slow start to the playoffs, perhaps due to some jitters in his first career appearance, Thompson was a force over the final four games — averaging 20.0 points (54.7% FG), 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks.
The versatile 6-foot-7 guard/forward was also dynamic on defense, as shown in the NBA All-Defensive First Team honor that Thompson received after the season.
While much of the offseason talk in Houston has surrounded the arrival of Kevin Durant, it’s worth emphasizing that he’s not the only star player on the 2025-26 Rockets. Big man Alperen Sengun was an All-Star last season, and it’s very possible that Thompson could be joining that tier in the near future.
Best of all, both are 23 or younger, which gives them ample room to continue getting better over the months and years ahead.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ‘Sooner than later’: ESPN’s Tim Legler sees likely superstar in Houston’s Amen Thompson
Reporting by Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
