Heading into the 2025-26 season, Amen Thompson was the assumed point guard fill-in for Fred VanVleet. Sure, the two have very different playing styles and even play different positions altogether, but Thompson seemed like the most natural fit on the roster.
(And we know the team doesn’t yet have the ability to nab an external replacement, although that’s going to be changing next month).
Thompson isn’t nearly the shooter that VanVleet is, nor will he ever be, but his size and athleticism is off the charts. And he’s a dog on the defensive end.
This season has been no different. Case in point, Saturday’s victory over the Boston Celtics. Thompson had Jaylen Brown limited to just 12 points (on 14 shots).
In the previous two games, Brown dropped 30 points a piece. In the same week, Brown hung 41 points on the Detroit Pistons.
When defended by Thompson, Brown went 0-for-5 from the field. But it wasn’t just Brown that was subjected to Thompson’s wrath. The Celtics, as a whole, went 1-for-7 when Thompson was the primary defender.
Thompson has averaged 15 points, six rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 46.7 percent from the field through five games.
Not too shabby, especially for a player who oftentimes gets to slow starts at the beginning of the season. He hasn’t quite seized the point guard role, however, although he’s thrown some crafty, rope passes,
Dimes, if you will. And he’s done very well in drive-and-kick scenarios.
ESPN ‘s Kevin Pelton tabbed Thompson as an early All-Star candidate, predicting the Houston Rockets wing to make his first All-Star team this season.
“Entering the season, Thompson would have been my top pick for first-time All-Stars. He averaged 16.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists as a starter last season while earning All-Defensive first team honors. A season-long ACL tear for starting point guard Fred VanVleet figured to give Thompson more offensive responsibility this season. Thus far, he hasn’t taken advantage, scoring less than he did as a starter in 2024-25. It’s still a small sample, and with Thompson at the controls for a West contender, I’d give him a good chance of working into the All-Star discussion.”
The outside shot hasn’t fallen like Thompson would’ve hoped, but that was always going to be a work in progress.
