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Amen Thompson

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Amen Thompson
No. 1 – Houston Rockets
PositionGuard / small forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2003-01-30) January 30, 2003 (age 21)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolPine Crest
(Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
NBA draft2023: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022Team OTE
2022–2023City Reapers
2023–presentHouston Rockets
2023→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Ameiz XLNC "Amen" Thompson (/əˈmɛn ˈɛksələns ˈtɒmsən/ ə-MEN EK-sə-lənss TOM-sən;[1] born January 30, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played basketball for Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was rated a five-star recruit by ESPN and won a state title. Thompson bypassed his senior year of high school to sign with OTE, where he played for two seasons and helped his team win the league title while earning All-OTE First Team honors in 2023. He was selected 4th overall in the 2023 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. He is the twin brother of basketball player Ausar Thompson.

Early life

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Thompson was born to Maya Wilson and Troy Thompson and raised in San Leandro, California.[2][3] His identical twin brother, Ausar, was born one minute after him; they share the middle name "XLNC" (pronounced "excellence").[4] Thompson's older brother, Troy Jr., played college basketball for Prairie View A&M. His uncle, Mark Thompson, represented Jamaica in 400 meter hurdles at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He and Ausar began training for basketball under the guidance of their father by age seven and drew inspiration from LeBron James.[2] The twins were homeschooled in sixth and seventh grades to focus on basketball.[3]

High school career

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Entering eighth grade, Thompson and his family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida so that he and Ausar could play high school basketball one year early at Pine Crest School.[2][5] The twins immediately started for the team.[6] As a sophomore at Pine Crest, Thompson averaged 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, earning All-County honorable mention. Entering his junior season, he was named to the Broward County Fab Five by the Sun-Sentinel.[7] He averaged 20.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game as a junior, leading his team to the Class 4A state championship in a 90–83 double overtime win over Santa Fe High School.[8] In the title game, Thompson scored 43 points and helped Pine Crest overcome an eight-point deficit with 45 seconds left in overtime.[6] He shared Broward County Class 5A-1A co-player of the year honors from the Sun-Sentinel with Ausar.[8]

Recruiting

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Thompson was considered a five-star recruit by ESPN and a four-star recruit by Rivals.[9][10] He gained interest from college programs in 2019, receiving a scholarship offer from Alabama.[11] After his junior year, Thompson held offers from Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Arizona State and Kansas, among other programs, before deciding to not play college basketball.[12]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Amen Thompson
PG / SG / SF 		Fort Lauderdale, FL Pine Crest (FL) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) — 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 90
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Professional career

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Team OTE (2021–2022)

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On May 25, 2021, Thompson signed a two-year contract with Overtime Elite (OTE), a new professional league based in Atlanta with players between ages 16 and 20. He joined the league with his brother Ausar, bypassing his final year of high school and college, because he felt that it would prepare him best for the NBA.[2][13][14] In the 2021–22 season, Thompson played for Team OTE, one of three teams in the league, and averaged 14 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game.[15][16] He competed against other OTE teams, as well as prep school and postgraduate opponents.[17] He helped his team achieve a runner-up finish, scoring 13 points in a 52–45 loss to Team Elite in the decisive third game of the finals.[18] Thompson played for OTE affiliate Team Overtime in The Basketball Tournament in July 2022.[2] His team lost to Omaha Blue Crew, 74–70, in the first round of the tournament.[19]

City Reapers (2022–2023)

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In the 2022–23 OTE season, Thompson played for the City Reapers alongside team captain Ausar, who selected him with the first pick in the league's draft.[20] On January 9, 2023, he was named OTE Player of the Week, three days after recording 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a 101–90 win over the Cold Hearts.[21] In the regular season, Thompson averaged 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game and was named to the All-OTE First Team.[22][23] In game 2 of the OTE Finals, he made a game-winning layup at the buzzer in an 80–78 win over the YNG Dreamerz.[24] Thompson helped the Reapers win the league championship in a 3–0 sweep.[25] On April 21, 2023, he declared for the 2023 NBA draft, where analysts viewed him as a potential top-10 pick.[26]

Houston Rockets (2023–present)

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The Houston Rockets selected Thompson with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, one pick ahead of his twin brother Ausar.[27] They were the first brothers in NBA draft history to be selected in the top 5 in the same year.[28] On October 25, 2023, Thompson made his NBA debut, scoring eight points along with five rebounds and two assists in a 116–86 loss to the Orlando Magic.[29] Thompson missed a couple of games from the start of the season after suffering a Grade 2 ankle sprain on his left ankle. He was sent to the G-League on December 5 for development before being recalled from the Rockets four days later.[30] Thompson made his return on the bench after a 15-game absence and recorded two points, five rebounds, and one assist in 10 minutes in the 93–82 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Thompson's minutes and numbers increased while playing full-time in the starting lineup for the remaining 15 games after teammate Alperen Şengün missed the remainder of the season from a knee injury.[31] Thompson recorded his first triple-double in a game win against the Los Angeles Clippers with a total of 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in his final game as a rookie.[32] He was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and became the fifth Rockets player to receive NBA all-rookie recognition in the past four seasons for the Rockets Rebuild.

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

NBA

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023–24 Houston 62 23 22.4 .536 .138 .684 6.6 2.6 1.3 .6 9.5
Career 62 23 22.4 .536 .138 .684 6.6 2.6 1.3 .6 9.5

References

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  1. ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide" (Press release). National Basketball Association. October 24, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gutierrez, Israel (August 31, 2022). "The Thompson twins and Overtime Elite's unproven path to the NBA". ESPN. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Polacheck, Jacob (April 18, 2022). "An Audacious Dream Meets Itself in Reality: A Look Inside Overtime Elite's Inaugural Season". Zagsblog. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  4. ^ Graham, Pat (June 20, 2023). "Twins Amen and Ausar Thompson set to be taken in top-10 of NBA draft". ABC News. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Schoenfield, Bruce (November 30, 2021). "The Teenagers Getting Six Figures to Leave Their High Schools for Basketball". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Wilson, David (March 6, 2021). "'I did not think we were going to win': Pine Crest wins state title with miracle comeback". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Lichtenstein, Adam (December 15, 2020). "Broward County boys basketball Fab Five for 2020 (and the next five)". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Lichtenstein, Adam (March 27, 2021). "Broward 5A-1A boys basketball co-players of the year: Ausar Thompson and Amen Thompson, Pine Crest juniors". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "Amen Thompson - Basketball Recruiting". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Amen Thompson, 2022 Point Guard". Rivals. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Young, Justin (October 2, 2019). "South Florida's Thompson Twins are catching on with recruiters". HoopSeen. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  12. ^ Branham, Travis (May 25, 2021). "Elite twins Amen and Ausar Thompson skip college to join the Overtime Elite program". 247Sports. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  13. ^ Boone, Kyle (May 25, 2021). "Overtime Elite lands another set of twins as Amen and Ausar Thompson choose professional program over college". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Woo, Jeremy (March 7, 2022). "Can Overtime Elite Disrupt Basketball With ... Twins?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  15. ^ Araiza, Robert (January 13, 2023). "Amen & Ausar Thompson: Should the San Antonio Spurs roll the dice?". Air Alamo. FanSided. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  16. ^ Sprung, Shlomo (August 26, 2022). "Overtime Elite Roster 2022-23". Boardroom. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  17. ^ Givony, Jonathan (October 13, 2021). "Overtime Elite announces 2021-22 schedule, roster for inaugural season". ESPN. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  18. ^ Feldman, Joseph (March 14, 2022). "Team Elite Wins First Overtime Elite Championship". Overtime Elite. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  19. ^ DeMarinis, Matt (July 17, 2022). "Omaha Blue Crew outlasts Team Overtime in a battle of old versus new". White and Blue Review. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  20. ^ Feldman, Joseph (September 21, 2022). "OTE Announces Roster Reveal and Expansion for Season 2". Overtime Elite. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  21. ^ Feldman, Joseph (January 9, 2023). "Amen Thompson named OTE Player of the Week". Overtime Elite. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  22. ^ "OTE Announces Regular Season Awards". OTE. February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  23. ^ "Amen Thompson". Overtime Elite. February 11, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  24. ^ Feldman, Joseph (March 4, 2023). "Amen Sinks Buzzer Beater for Reapers Game 2 Win". Overtime Elite. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  25. ^ Feldman, Joseph (March 4, 2023). "City Reapers Win OTE Championship". Overtime Elite. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  26. ^ Cobb, David (April 21, 2023). "2023 NBA Draft: Amen, Ausar Thompson declare as likely lottery picks after playing for Overtime Elite". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  27. ^ Siegel, Brett (June 22, 2023). "Amen Thompson: Meet the Rockets' No. 4 pick in 2023 NBA Draft". ClutchPoints. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  28. ^ Woodyard, Eric (June 23, 2023). "Amen, Ausar Thompson first brothers taken in top 5 of same NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  29. ^ "Rockets 86-116 Magic (Oct 25, 2023) Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  30. ^ DuBose, Ben (December 5, 2023). "Rockets rookie Amen Thompson returns from injury with NBA G League assignment". rocketswire.usatoday.com.
  31. ^ DuBose, Ben (March 12, 2024). "With Alperen Sengun injured, Rockets promote Amen Thompson to starting lineup". rocketswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  32. ^ DuBose, Ben (April 14, 2024). "Takeaways: Amen Thompson posts first triple-double, Rockets beat Clippers to clinch .500 season". rocketswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
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