By earning a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team for the 2024-25 season, Houston Rockets guard/forward Amen Thompson joined a rare club.
Dating back to the 1981-82 season — a span of more than 40 years — only four other NBA players have earned that distinction within their first two professional seasons. Typically, young prospects face a steeper learning curve on defense, which makes early success on that side of the ball extremely encouraging for their long-term outlook.
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That exclusive club entails:
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Spurs forward Tim Duncah in 1998-99, his second season;
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Spurs center Victor Wembanyama in 2023-24, his rookie season.
Robinson and Duncan are both league Most Valuable Player (MVP) winners, multi-time NBA champions, and members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Mobley and Wembanyama were both top-three draft picks and are widely viewed as defensive cornerstones for the next generation.
Now, Thompson — the No. 4 overall pick by Houston in the 2023 first round — is making his own case as a defensive cornerstone. The 52-30 record by the 2024-25 Rockets, which was fourth-best in the NBA and No. 2 in the Western Conference, further bolsters that argument. Houston’s success was clearly driven by its strong defense, as shown in a top-five defensive rating.
Showcasing elite defense, athleticism, and positional versatility, Thompson averaged 14.1 points (55.7% FG), 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 32.2 minutes per game during the regular season. The 22-year-old became a full-time starter in January and never relinquished the job.
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Per NBA tracking data, Thompson allowed the lowest field-goal percentage (40.7%) among players who played in at least 10 games and defended at least 9.0 shots per game.
At 6-foot-7, Thompson is tall and athletic enough to guard and play at any position, and his versatility has quickly made a believer out of head coach Ime Udoka. Late in the 2023-24 season, after Alperen Sengun went down with a season ending ankle injury, Thompson played occasional minutes at center. In 2024-25, Thompson made a few starts at point guard in the absence of veteran starter Fred VanVleet, and he ultimately replaced Jabari Smith Jr. as the starter at power forward.
“He can be a top 15-level player, All-NBA level,” Udoka told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “People are seeing flashes. We see more.”
More: Rockets star Amen Thompson named to NBA’s All-Defensive First Team for 2024-25 season
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: NBA All-Defensive First Team: At 22, Amen Thompson joins elite club
