2023 NBA Draft: Evaluating Overtime Elite's Amen Thompson
Amen Thompson played two seasons in the Overtime Elite League. The 6-foot-7 lead guard is coming off an OTE championship. The upside he possesses is arguably higher than anyone else in the draft not named Victor Wembanyama. He’s a high level prospect and is one half of the best twin prospects ever. Let’s dive into why Thompson is a potential top ten pick.
Generational Athleticism
Thompson is a ridiculous vertical athlete. The athletic guard is a lob threat at all times due to his 40-plus inch vertical leap and explosiveness at the rim. The skilled guard is great with the ball in his hands but the upside as a cutter is intriguing. What makes Thompson so exciting is that he can put on a show like no one else in this draft as he’ll make highlight reel dunks in the open floor. He’ll absolutely thrive in an up-tempo style of play in the NBA due to how much he loves to play in transition.
The exciting guard is one of the best prospects I've evaluated in the open floor due to his special athleticism, ball skills, and finishing ability. It's so hard to stop him when he gets downhill. The slashing potential is through the roof as he’s already a great finisher around the rim due to his ambidextrous finishing, body control, contortion, and explosive athleticism. Good luck jumping with him at the rim because he will put you on a poster. The amount of pressure he puts on the rim can overwhelm a defense. Thompon will be a top five athlete in the NBA the moment he gets drafted.
Playmaking Ability
Thompson is undoubtedly one of the best playmakers in the entire draft. The high level passing guard has a great combination of vision, size, feel for the game, and live dribbling passing ability. What makes Thompson so unique is the combination he possesses of generational athleticism and passing versatility. He often has been compared to Ja Morant, except Thompson is 6-foot-7. The tall lead guard is a very good passer out of the pick and roll despite his shooting limitations. The pick-and-roll maestro does a great job of creating passing angles to the roll-man or to shooters spotting up.
The athletic guard is a great advantage creator in the hall-court as has the movement skills and shiftiness to create space off the dribble. The great combination of quickness and wiggle makes him nearly unstoppable at times. The shifty guard is so crafty with the ball in his hands as a creator and playmaker. Thompson always finds the gaps and is able to consistently create something out of nothing. The athletic prospect has ridiculous burst and a quick first step to blow-by defenders in a straight line. Although he does have the ability to blow-by defenders, he can utilize his handle to break down defenders when needed. The best wait to describe Thompson in the half-court is that he’s a walking paint touch.
Defensive Tools
Thompson has incredible defensive tools although his defense is still a work in progress. The upside is very high for him on that end as he has a chance to be one of the best point of attack defenders in the NBA. The high upside guard has ridiculous lateral quickness with positional size at 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan. Due to the positional size on and athletic abilities he has on that end it gives him the ability to effectively defend one through three at the next level.
The supersized point guard should be a versatile defender in the NBA. Thompson has really good defensive anticipation and instincts. He absolutely loves to play in the passing lanes to rack up deflections and steals and it showed on the stat sheet as he was a stocks machine in OTE. The plays Thompson can make defensively are second to none in this draft and it’s a big reason why he can be one of the most impactful two-way guards in the NBA.
Biggest Area of Improvement
Thompson’s obvious biggest hole in his game is the jumper. The lackluster shooting guard has had a ton of bad misses throughout his young career. The touch gets worse the farther out he is from the rim. Thompson has some mechanical issues that he needs to work on and the awkward flick of the wrist results in shots air-balling. It'll take time for him to be a respectable shooter as the results just haven't been there and I'm not sure there's much shooting upside for him.
If he can get to where he's occasionally hitting an open three, I'll take it. Perimeter defenders at the next level will always go under on ball-screens against him and big men will play drop coverage and in result his playmaking ability and rim pressure could be limited. Thompson shot below 30% on pull-up jumpers, from the mid-range, and from three. If he can become a more reliable scorer outside the paint it’ll open up the rest of his game drastically.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.