The 1 missing piece Amen Thompson must add to become an All-Star

The Houston Rockets have a lot of faith in Amen Thompson.

He's had a spectacular sophomore season. An untimely injury has Thompson on the shelves for an undetermined amount of time. If his season is over, he's established himself as a cornerstone - if not the cornerstone - for this team.

As an athlete, Thompson was designed in a lab by a mad scientist to play basketball - with enough genetic material leftover to make an identical twin. The list of 6'7" players with his combination of speed, burst and verticality throughout NBA history isn't small:

It doesn't exist at all.

That's not to say that Thompson is a perfect player. Every Rockets fan would love to see Thompson develop a viable three ball. That would be nice, but the Game Theory Podcast's Sam Vecenie thinks he needs to make strides in another area.

He's right.

NBA insider identifies area of improvement for Thompson

"He's only getting to the line 4.3 times (per game as a starter)...I think that's the number where his game is going to explode moving forward"

-Sam Vecenie, Game Theory Podcast

That's an insufficient number. Vecenie says that a player with Thompson's unheard-of athleticism should be drawing more fouls. To be sure, increased free throw volume would unlock Thompson's game.

It should come with increased accuracy, too. Thompson is shooting 69.3% from the free throw line in 2024-25. That's not dismal - but that's about the nicest thing you could say about it. Thompson needs to improve, but at least he's got a reasonable baseline from which to improve. "Hacking" him would not be a prudent strategy from a points per possession standpoint as is.

So why doesn't he generate more free throws?

Thompson needs to earn more on-ball reps

Well, Thompson isn't a primary ball-handler for the Rockets. He doesn't drive frequently enough to generate the number of free throws we'd like to see.

As it stands, his 17.4% Usage % ranks 7th or 8th among Rockets rotation regulars (depending on whether Cam Whitmore meets that threshold for you). That's 0.1% behind Dillon Brooks.

Amen Thompson should have a higher usage rate than Dillon Brooks.

In 2025-26, this should be adjusted. Thompson needs a boost in usage. Still, he's not ready for a substantial boost. In some ways, the free throw rate circles back to the three-point shooting. Without a three-pointer that defenses respect, it's hard for Thompson to function as a primary ball-handler. Without being a primary ball-handler, it's hard for him to generate free throws at a high volume.

Rockets fans shouldn't sound the alarm. Thompson's three-point shooting has improved considerably since he joined the NBA. Even if it doesn't continue to trend upward, they could put better spacing around him to mitigate the issue. Yet, even if that's not the path forward, Thompson is going to be one of the most impactful wings in the NBA:

He's already earned the team's faith.