Amen Thompson Is Untouchable at the Rockets
ESPN's Tim MacMahon says Houston views its 23-year-old guard as one of the NBA's 10 most valuable players by its own internal metrics.
Amen Thompson is untouchable at the Rockets, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, who says the club rates its 23-year-old guard among the 10 most valuable players in the league by its own internal metrics.
Thompson signed a five-year, $208m extension with Houston this summer, fully guaranteed and without options. Kevin Durant reacted to the extension when it was announced on 2026-09-07, and Joe Johnson, discussing the same contract, said Thompson still needs a more reliable jump shot to match the price tag.
Houston has since added experience around him. Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic bring toughness and shooting, while stressing that the team's future still rests on the growth of its younger players — Fred VanVleet, meanwhile, remains further off; his coach Ime Udoka said the guard, recovering from a torn ACL and meniscus, is now doing limited-contact training in San Diego.
By MacMahon's account, none of that changes Houston's read on Thompson's standing in the roster. If it holds, the extension marks less a reward for what he has done than a bet the Rockets are not prepared to walk back from.
About this article
Prepared by the newsroom with algorithmic assistance and checked against sources