Age

20.4

Height

6'7"

Weight

199 lbs

Workload

MIN%

86.1

USG%

22.4

TS%

55.1

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

16.7

REB

7.8

AST

4.6

STL

2.7

BLK

1.7

TOV

3.3

Efficiency

RIM FG%

60.0

MID FG%

35.0

3PT FG%

25.0

FT%

51.3

Jump to full report

Report by: Oscar

Amen Thompson

Forward Overtime Elite

An otherworldly athlete with unique movement patterns and burgeoning playmaking

Age

20.4

Height

6'7"

Weight

199 lbs

Per 70 Possession Stats

PTS

16.7

REB

7.8

AST

4.6

STL

2.7

BLK

1.7

Positions Defended

Offensive Role

 

Defensive Role

   

Meet Amen Thompson

Amen Thompson is a 6’7” wing who pairs otherworldly athletic gifts with unique movement patterns and burgeoning playmaking instincts. His movement skills and leaping ability are at the center of his appeal as a prospect: Amen’s first step, load time, and vertical pop off of one and two feet are all beyond elite. Perhaps his most freakish athletic trait is the speed of his long strides, which he uses to cover ground impossibly quickly in big space.

Amen loves to accelerate full-throttle towards the rim out of odd body alignments or spots on the floor – he often challenges angles that most other players wouldn’t even consider, much less attack. This trait gives his herky-jerky driving game a unique rhythm that keeps defenders constantly off-balance.

Thompson leverages these athletic gifts to generate constant rim pressure, even with his handle and poise in tight spaces currently at rudimentary levels. He’s a comfortable drive-and-kick passer, rarely pre-determining his decisions off the bounce and able to throw cross-court kickouts accurately with his dominant right hand. He loves to manipulate outnumbered defenders on his drives, frequently faking passes to freeze rotators and exploit the inherent numbers advantage generated by a blowby.

The biggest hole in Amen’s game is his shooting: both his percentages (51% from the line, 25% from 3 in his 1st OTE season) and mechanics (wonky base with an exaggerated leg kick and major disconnect in energy transfer from lower to upper body) leave something to be desired. The development of Amen’s in-between game is arguably just as important to his star outcomes as his 3pt shot; without a reliable push shot or pullup midrange jumper, it’ll be extremely difficult for him to maintain volume as a driver.

While still likely to be a positive on that end, Amen’s defensive upside is diminished slightly by his only non-elite athletic trait, his tight core. He flashes suffocating mirroring skills at the point of attack, but once a ball handler manages to gain a half-step, he can struggle to flip his hips and restack atop the driver. When defending off the ball, Amen is an incredible helpside rim protector, often skying for perfectly timed blocks that few 6’9” wingspan players could dream of. At the next level, Amen would be best utilized in the “roamer” role, able to act as a defensive playmaker to blow up actions with his ground coverage, and provide backline support with his vertical pop and instincts.

On his rookie contract, Amen can thrive as a complementary wing, able to do damage in transition (both as a ball handler and play finisher) and as a connector in the half-court, where his burst can pierce even the slightest lag in rotations and cause defensive breakdowns. I’d also like to see Amen utilized as a screener, especially as a short roller, where he can be schemed into open runways and high-leverage decision making opportunities at the same time. This is somewhat similar to the role Jonathan Kuminga played in his rookie year, where Kuminga (like Amen, a highly touted prospect who was used primarily as an on-ball scorer in his youth career) readily accepted his reduced role as a connecting combo forward. As a long term bet, Amen’s physical tools and passing acumen sketch the outline of a dominant 2-way wing – he just has to fill in the (admittedly large) holes that cloud his projection.

Tags:

, ,

Related Players

Related Articles

amateur-hoops-guide
A Beginner’s Guide to Amateur Basketball
August 2, 2023
Analysis
High school basketball, and more specifically grassroots circuits, is the Amazon rainforest of the basketball world. A wealth of natural hoops knowledge sitting at your fingertips, hidden in the foray…

Read more

Summer-League-Takeaways-2023
ROUNDTABLE: Summer League 2023 Takeaways
July 18, 2023
NBA Articles
In the Vegas heat, it can be easy to see things that aren’t there. Summer League stat lines pop and crackle, games sizzling in the excitement of new NBA basketball….

Read more

making-sense-of-the-thompson-twins
Making Sense of the Thompson Twins
June 22, 2023
2023 NBA Draft Articles
Let’s face it – Amen and Ausar Thompson are difficult to wrap your head around. For one, they’re physically impossible to tell apart, both 6’7” with 7’0” wingspans and weighing…

Read more

One-Size-Fits-All-Big-Board-Leonard-Miller
One-Size Fits All Draft Strategy
June 12, 2023
2023 NBA Draft Articles
Michael Neff’s Strategy for the 2023 Draft Lately, I have been dissatisfied with using a big board as a means of properly reflecting my thoughts on a given draft class….

Read more

Victor-Wembanyama-Ant-Black-Amen-Thompson
The San Antonio Spurs Have the Juice
June 7, 2023
NBA Articles
Setting the Stage The basketball gods must love breakfast tacos. The San Antonio Spurs struck gold in the lottery once again, where their record is somehow even more impressive than…

Read more

The Behind the Scenes Skill Developers
November 23, 2022
Analysis
The Unheralded Heroes of Basketball When focusing on player development, many look at the programs players have been a part of: high schools, colleges, and even NBA teams get critiqued…

Read more