The Houston Rockets have been building things brick by brick. The 2024-25 season was a big step in the right direction, which saw the Rockets finish the regular season with a 52-30 record and lock down the second seed in the Western Conference.
Despite getting eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the first round, they have a great young foundation to build around, making the future extremely bright. On Wednesday, the NBA announced the 2024-25 NBA All-Defensive Teams, and the Rockets had someone featured on the list.
Forward Amen Thompson was named to the First Team, along with Evan Mobley, Draymond Green, Dyson Daniels, and Lu Dort.
Amen Thompson Lands on 2024-25 NBA All-Defensive First Team
Thompson was a swarming defender all season long, using his length, speed, and athleticism to give offensive players fits.
The 22-year-old had the lowest defensive field goal percentage (.407) of players who defended at least nine shots a game. In addition to that, Thompson was 10th in defensive rating (107.9) among players who logged at least 30 minutes per game.
He is the fifth Rockets player in team history to be named to an All-Defensive Team (Hakeem Olajuwon, Rodney McCray, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Beverley).
This is a tall task for a guy like Thompson, who just completed his second season in the NBA. This season, he averaged 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. His future is sky high, and he showcased why. His numbers improved in every statistical category from Year 1 to Year 2.
There's a reason why the Rockets made him the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft.
Houston made the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season, and Thompson's stifling defense played a big role in that. Now it's about continuing to grow and come out as a better player next season.