Amen Thompson’s breakout season is about to get even scarier

As the Houston Rockets prepare to enter the 2025-26 NBA season, one of the most exciting storylines surrounding the team is the continued ascension of young wing Amen Thompson.

A singularly athletically gifted player, Thompson has taken massive strides in his two years in the league, and, if Kirk Goldsberry's prediction of Thompson winning Most Improved Player in 2025-26 proves true, the defensive monster could be on the fast track to stardom.

While it remains to be seen exactly how the Rockets' rotation will shake out, it is absolutely certain that Thompson's role will continue to increase. Moreover, coming off the back of a strong finish in Defensive Player of the Year Voting and an All-Defense First Team nod, Thompson seems ready to take the NBA by storm.

Amen Thompson could be the Rockets' next emerging star

Last season, through 69 games, Thompson averaged 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 55.7% from the field and playing some of the best point-of-attack defense in the entire NBA.

Now, however, Goldsberry's comments on the most recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show suggest that Thompson still has immense room to grow as a potential face of the league: "He got votes for Defensive Player of the Year; he made All-Defense. So, like Dyson Daniels, he is a problem on that end of the court, and Dyson won [Most Improved Player] last year... but I think Amen's going to have a bigger light on him."

In comparison, Goldsberry mentions Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks, who won Most Improved Player last year after emerging as a serious defensive threat as well as an emerging offensive threat for his team.

Thompson, similarly, will be entering his third year in the league, and, given the advancement of the Rockets' offense and the continued development of his ability to utilize his downhill momentum, it is not hard to believe that he could be slated for a larger offensive role this season.

Moreover, his penchant for making eye-popping plays on both ends of the court could endear him to a national audience rather quickly: especially given his team's uptick in appearances on national television this season.

If Thompson is able to level out his shooting this season and become an even more capable ball-handler, we could be in store for an All-Star level leap for a player that is just approaching 23. With the amount of talent that Houston already has stacked on its roster, this should be a scary thought for any other team looking to compete in the Western Conference.