Rockets Amen Thompson Has Spent Extensive Time Studying Rajon Rondo

He's a student of the game.

Dec 5, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) attempts to steal the ball from Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Amen Thompson is one of the league's most unique point guards. And that's probably an understatement. 

Granted, he's not a point guard. Let's first note that.

Sure, he played the position in high school and the Overtime Elite, but the level of competition and pace of the game is much different than that of the NBA.

It's really been more of an experiment than anything else. At least, that's what it feels like.

The Houston Rockets' actual point guard, Fred VanVleet, is sidelined, due to injury, which prompted the franchise to shift Thompson over to point guard.

But it's clear that he's better suited on the wing. 

Thompson's best offensive skills are getting downhill and/or cutting and slashing. He has court vision, for sure, but certainly not to the level of an NBA point guard. 

He definitely can find open teammates in transition or when driving, but doesn't exactly set up plays. 

And his shooting (or lack thereof) is certainly not quite to the bar of a starting NBA-level point guard. 

Teams want him to take jump shots. Especially long-range jump shots.

It plays into the defense's strategy. Especially on a Rockets team that shoots 40.1 percent from deep, which is second-best in the NBA.

This is not to say that Thompson isn't a good player, however. That would be grossly incorrect. 

He's one of the best two-way wing players in the league. Better yet, he's one of the best two-way players in the league altogether, regardless of position. 

He towers over opposing players, with his six-foot-seven frame and he doesn't take possessions off defensively. In fact, he's willing to defend the opposing team's best scorer.

Regardless of who is on the other side.

To prepare himself for his new assignment this season, Thompson studied alot of tape of a compilation of point guards. 

Rajon Rondo is one who has especially stood out to Thompson, as he told long-time NBA analyst Marc Spears.

"I started watching Rondo and was like, ‘Yo, this man is nice.’

I knew he was nice, but I didn’t know he was that nice. But I started watching a lot of him because of the way he impacts the game while they are letting him shoot, but he still gets to where he wants and distributes and grabs 20 rebounds at 6-foot-2.”

In addition to Rondo, Thompson has watched tape of Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, John Wall, and LeBron James -- three of which ironically spent time with the Rockets throughout their NBA careers.