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Amen Thompson recently signed a five-year, $208 million contract, firmly establishing himself as the Houston Rockets franchise cornerstone. A 6’7″ wingman who possesses natural defensive instincts and incredible athleticism, Thompson burnished his reputation as a premier defender by earning a spot on the league’s All-Defensive First Team in 2025.
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Just in: Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson has agreed to a five-year, $208 million rookie-scale contract extension with the franchise, sources tell ESPN. The new deal includes a 10% trade kicker. pic.twitter.com/3YR9F6lYnv
– Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 3, 2026
While his offense is still a work in progress, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst surmised that if given a choice, most NBA general managers would select Thompson over the Orlando Magic’s All-Star Paolo Banchero.
A hard-to-find attribute
Banchero has been the Magic’s main man since they selected him with the first pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. A 6’10” power forward who can score from anywhere on the floor and create plays for his teammates, he won the Rookie of the Year award and was then an All-Star in his second season.
And while Banchero has led the Magic to the playoffs three years in a row, he has yet to get them past the first round. One thing that critics have been riding Banchero about is his lack of defense – something Thompson relishes.
“I think a lot of people would take Amen because what he does is so highly desired in the league,” Windhorst
“And you need versatile, athletic defense. And it’s harder to find than what Paolo does, which is, you know, offense-first.”
“Which is high-usage, middling efficiency,” Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon chimed in.
While the +/- metric doesn’t always paint the right picture about a player’s capabilities, Windhorst said that Banchero’s figures over the last two seasons say a lot about his impact on the Magic. While his running mate, Franz Wagner, registered a +248 last season, Banchero was a -3. The season before that, Wagner was a +204 while Banchero was a -21.
“The thing about Paolo, anytime you have a discussion, you just bring yourself back to the plus-minus,” Windhorst stated.
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“Amen, like the Rockets haven’t made a playoff run yet. They haven’t gotten out the first round yet. But, like, the analytics nerds would take Amen Thompson. I can tell you that,” MacMahon added.
“Well, when I say the plus-minus, the Magic have continued to be outscored with Paolo on the court,” Windhorst continued. “Yeah, it’s been happening for years, and, you know, that’s a factor.”
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Amen needs to develop his jumper
As prolific as Amen is on the defensive end, his offense has been limited to layups, dunks and putbacks. With the amount of money the Rockets have thrown at him this offseason, former All-Star Joe Johnson said it should motivate him to round out his game, starting with consistently making midrange jumpers.
“All he should be doing is putting up jump shots, you know, this summer. I mean, because look, that tells me one thing. The Houston Rockets really believe that he is like that,” Johnson remarked. “You know, invest that type of money into you. Come on, bro. You got to develop this jumper. They going to need that.”
With Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams expected to return this upcoming season, the Rockets are pegged to be a title contender. And if they expect to make a deep postseason run, Thompson’s ability to make the occasional jumper would go a long way toward helping their cause.
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This story was originally published September 8, 2026 at 10:53 PM.