The Houston Rockets have been experimenting this season. Faced with the season-long absence of starting point guard Fred VanVleet, the Rockets have been playing jumbo ball. A lot of the focus on this approach goes on the double big duo of Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams. But how has the Rockets’ six-foot-seven point guard, Amen Thompson, been handling his new role?
Checking In On Rockets’ Jumbo-Ball “Point Guard”
As of Friday night, Thompson is averaging 17.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game for the Rockets. The points in particular were boosted by a season-high 31 against the Phoenix Suns. Thompson went 12 of 17 from the floor to make up for the absence (illness) of the team’s 2025 All-Star, Sengun. The Rockets won the opener of the back-to-back (as they usually do) 117-98.
A Scoring Smorgasbord
Despite not previously cracking 30 points, Thompson has been scoring well all season. It’s not just his jump from 32 to 36 minutes per game, either. Per 36 minutes, he was only at 15.7 points last season compared with his current 17.9. He’s been held to single digits just once so far, in a blowout win over the Utah Jazz, no less.
Something particularly notable about Thompson’s scoring profile this season is that he is now leading the team in shots within five feet at 7.8 per game. That’s up from 5.7 last season, with only a 3.7% drop in conversion rate. Partly, this is due to his leading the team in drives at 12.2 per game. A lot of his point-blank attempts come from cuts or putbacks, though. On a historically great offensive rebounding team like Houston, it’s no surprise that even the point guard averages 2.5 offensive boards per game.
Thompson’s experimentations with a more typical shot selection for a guard are seeing a little less success. He’s attempting more threes this season (1.3 to 2.1) but doing so at an even worse percentage (27.5 to 22.0). His accuracy from floater range is also down so far this season. 43.7% from five to nine feet has dropped to 32.6% so far in 2025-26.
Not the Point Of A Point Guard
Of course, somewhat ironically, points are not the stat we think of first with point guards. Instead, the stat most commonly associated with point guard play is assists. Thompson’s gone from 4.3 assists per 36 minutes in 2024-25 to 5.0 in 2025-26. It’s not exactly the kind of jump that some fans might have hoped for. It’s pretty much in line with his increase in turnovers as well: 2.2 per 36 to 2.5.
The reality is that Thompson’s point guard listing is for administrative reasons. In practice, the Rockets play point guard by committee. Sengun leads the team in assists with 7.1 per game. Thompson is second with his 5.1, and next are Kevin Durant with 3.9 and Reed Sheppard with 3.3. Against Phoenix, Thompson had just 1 assist. Thompson is third on the team in usage percentage (20.9), behind Sengun (26.1) and Durant (25.6) for the Rockets.
Thompson’s Specialization
Oddly enough, perhaps the most obvious statistical reflection of Thompson’s positional adjustment is in his blocks. Thompson averaged an All-Defense First team warranting 1.3 blocks per game last season. That’s down to 0.5 per game in 2025-26. The culprit to this issue isn’t due to his own failings. No, Thompson has a different role he has to play.
Last year, Thompson finally broke into the starting lineup after an injury to starting power forward Jabari Smith Jr. Playing alongside VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and Sengun, Thompson was the best shot blocker in the lineup.
That is rarely the case in 2025-26. Not only is Thompson now starting next to Smith, but also Durant, often Adams, and a defensively improved Sengun. Rim protection isn’t his job anymore. That he’s even still averaging half a block a game is impressive for a perimeter player. It’s also pretty impressive that he happens to be third in the entire NBA in defensive win shares. He’s behind only Canadian man mountain Zach Edey and four games of Jalen Williams.
The Last Word
Thompson’s role as the Rockets’ nominal starting point guard is the perfect representation of what the team is all about. It’s not only that they use size and physicality to get the job done on both ends of the court. The Rockets don’t have the benefit of other contenders who has players who can shoulder the offensive burden alone. There will be no MVP cases coming out of Houston this season. The team added the number 8, soon to be number 7, scorer in NBA history, and yet they play mostly through their year-five center. Far from being about any one player dominating the ball, the team’s identity is defense and rebounding. Rockets fans say Amen to that.
Featured Image: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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