Rockets' Amen Thompson punching back after down year

Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson were photographed in South Florida last week wearing boxing gloves, having put in some work in the squared circle. The most athletic twins ever to grace the NBA have been staying active and getting stronger.

The logical next thoughts are shared by the entire basketball committee. How well did they shoot the ball in the ring? Did the gloves help?

While the Thompson twins are entitled to do whatever they want with their free time this offseason, everyone imagines them locked in basketball gyms, working on their shooting. Since they’re together, they can rebound for one another, which means they’ll be putting plenty of work in on the boards.

The jokes are easy and endless, but everyone knows the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons are counting on improved shooting being crucial to the playoff aspirations for both teams.

Amen and Ausar Thompson at the Boca Boxing District!

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Boxing can help you with footwork and stamina, so Thompson might be improving that way in addition to learning how to throw combos and take a punch. Whatever he does between now and the regular season opener, here’s hoping it’s more effective than whatever didn’t take prior to last season.

Amen Thompson’s third season, while occasionally impressive, should be looked back on as disappointing. His fourth needs to be great. A lucrative max extension awaits, expected to be signed before the season begins, could potentially be over $250 million over five years.

Here’s hoping he’s worth every penny. There are reasons to be concerned he won’t be, but those can be overcome. Physically, it's hard to find a better athlete in the league.

Jumping out the gym ⬆️

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— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 3, 2026

In June, Yahoo’s Kelly Iko reported Thompson was the only member of the Houston Rockets deemed untouchable by management. The 23-year-old is coming off a season where he averaged career-bests in points (18.3), assists (5.3) and steals (1.5) and bumped his free-throw percentage from 68.4 percent from 77.9.

Thompson made multiple 3-pointers in just three games. It looked like his heart was in the right place to open ‘25-’26 since he took seven 3-pointers in a 125-124 double-OT loss to OKC, responding defiantly to the Thunder leaving him open. He missed all seven.

Amen took more than four 3-pointers only once the rest of the regular season, shooting 1-for-5 in a Dec. 27 win vs. Cleveland. In the postseason, he had a 2-for-5 shooting game from beyond the arc in a 99-93 Game 5 win in L.A., but was just 0-for-3 in the other five Rockets playoff games, four of them losses.

Thompson entered the 2026 playoffs having missed 10 consecutive 3-pointers, last making one on March 27 and missing three more over the first few games of the Lakers series before making those aforementioned two treys at Crypto.com Arena on April 29.

Guards or wings who can’t shoot don’t play as many minutes as Thompson does because teams can’t afford that type of liability. That he finished second in minutes per game despite his poor perimeter touch is a testament to what he brings to the table everywhere else. LeBron James, after dealing with him in one of the Lakers' playoff wins, said out loud what most in the league are thinking: "Man, when Amen gets a 15-footer, better watch out."

LeBron James on Amen Thompson:

“LeBron’s sitting in front of his locker, surveying the stat sheet and looking at what Amen Thompson did and he turned over to I think Marcus Smart and was like ‘man, when Amen gets a 15 footer, better watch out.’” pic.twitter.com/gNfz5ue9u9
— ᵂᴵᴸᴸ (@BiasedHouston) July 24, 2026

His confidence shooting it waned quickly after that season opener, but head coach Ime Udoka played him fewer than 30 minutes just three times. Thompson averaged 44.2 minutes over the six games in the first-round loss to L.A. The increased minutes provided significant experience to build on, but also shed light on a dip in his production.

Despite consistently flirting with triple-doubles, Thompson didn’t record one after putting together his first in the final game of his rookie season and three in ‘24-’25. Correctly described as one of the finest athletes ever to suit up in the NBA, there’s a lot expected from the 23-year-old, who is described as a nightmare to play against by veteran wings.

Going from First-Team All-Defense in ‘25 to not appearing among the top 10 last season despite an additional year under his belt is an indictment that he didn’t live up to preseason expectations. Everyone still believes Thompson’s future is bright, but you never want regression to set in. Thompson's career-best 41-point night came in the final regular-season game against Minnesota (April 15) in which he shot 17-for-22 and took just one 3-pointer. He should be watching highlights of that performance on a loop.

Complacency won’t be an issue. Thompson is hungry and competitive. He worked hard on his 3-point stroke this time last year and shot 4-for-6 over three preseason games, so we’re really not going to know whether he’s made improvements until we’re into December at the earliest.

Can he get to 33 percent from 3-point range? That doesn’t sound like much and is still far below acceptable for most wings, but considering he’s a career 21.9 percent shooter from beyond the arc, Thompson making one of every three attempts would be cause for celebration.

Can he continue to improve as a playmaker? After averaging 5.3 assists and taking care of the ball better over the second half of the season, there’s reason to be optimistic that he’ll take yet another step and supplant Alperen Sengun as Houston’s leader in assists despite Fred VanVleet and Marcus Smart expected to handle the ball more. Smart's arrival after playing against Thompson with the Lakers a few months ago provides another mentor and resource who will help take some pressure off him. Smart is still the only guard to win Defensive Player of the Year this century.

Shooting the ball better will also make it easier for Thompson to distribute helpers, so there’s plenty of room for him to make a leap and become an All-Star. It might sound like spending time in a boxing ring won’t grow his game on the basketball court, but his fighting spirit can’t be questioned.

After taking some hits in Year 3, he’s got to get up off the mat and keep working.

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