Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson earns NBA All-Rookie second team honors
Amen Thompson became the fifth Rocket to be named an NBA all-rookie in the previous four seasons on Monday, marking another step forward in the team’s rebirth.
Thompson was selected for the second team on 90 out of 99 ballots. Ten votes went to him in the first place. In 2021, Jae’Sean Tate was selected as a first-team All-Rookie. In 2022, Jalen Green was chosen for the first team. Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. were selected to the second team the previous year.
The fourth player taken in 2023 draft, Thompson got off to a slow start, missing 13 games with a sprained right ankle, and then struggled to come back from an illness. But in 62 games played, he averaged 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.26 steals in 22.4 minutes per game.
In 23 games as a starter, including his final 17 games played after Alperen Şengün went out with an ankle injury, Thompson averaged 13.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.48 steals while making 58.4% of his shots. The Rockets went 12-5 in those games.
