Historical comparisons for every member of the Houston Rockets' "core six"

It's been said that comparison is the thief of joy. That can be true. Still, in the right context, we'd argue that comparison can be a source of joy.

For example, we like comparing NBA players to former players. It's fun. Is it particularly useful or instructive?

We're unsure. Some draft analysts hate player comparisons. They'll argue that they're lazy and reductive. They're probably right.

They also don't sound like someone we'd invite to our birthday party. Player comparisons are fun! Still, to make them more useful, we're giving a floor, median, and ceiling comparison for every member of the Rockets' core six. Hopefully, giving a range of potential comparisons makes this exercise a little more worthwhile.

It's still not scientific. We're not trying to make projections based on statistical trends here. We're simply looking at each player's style and attributes and comparing them to other players.

Try to have fun reading it.

Cam Whitmore

A scorer who doesn't pass. Hmm. Have there been any of those players in NBA history?

We joke - there have been plenty. Most of them don't go on to be true superstars. With that said, there are exceptions to every rule.

Whitmore could be an exception. He could also develop his passing ability. Still, if he's an efficient enough scorer, he may be able to overcome his shortcomings and be a star anyway.

Floor: Michael Beasley

Median: Cory Maggette

Ceiling: Jaylen Brown

Tari Eason

Eason is a bit of a difficult player to find comparisons for. We've seen plenty of energy guys in NBA history, but most of them were non-shooters.

In 2024, that's untenable. Luckily, Eason is a floor spacer. He's not likely to ever be one of the league's scariest three-point threats, but given everything else that Eason brings to the table, the fact that he can shoot will keep him on the floor.

After all, very few players combine offensive rebounding with steals like Eason. That makes him an extra-possession monster. Only a handful of players in NBA history have kept the ball in the hands of his team as consistently as Eason does.

Floor: Mark Madsen with a 3

Median: Gerald Wallace

Ceiling: Dennis Rodman with a 3

Jabari Smith Jr.

When it comes to Smith Jr., a lot is still up in the air.

He's an inconsistent defender. Smith Jr. looks like he can survive in space - at times. Other times, he gets blown by guarding mediocre players. His rim protection comes and goes as well.

Offensively, he's limited. Smith Jr. doesn't have the handle or bust to create opportunities at the rim. Yet, at 6'11" with solid shooting mechanics, it doesn't necessarily matter. He can shoot over his primary defender.

Is he Rashard Lewis or LaMarcus Aldridge on offense? Is he Bruce Bowen or Channing Frye on defense? We're not sure, but we took a stab at making some comparisons anyway.

Floor: Channing Frye

Median: Rashard Lewis with defense

Ceiling: Chris Bosh

Jalen Green

We're going to upset some people here.

Sorry. Green had a tremendous month in March. He flashed boundless potential. Inconveniently, we still need to look at the rest of his 2023-24 season.

This was Green's third year in the league. It generally wasn't great. If we're being realistic, we need to entertain the possibility that Green is an empty-calorie scorer.

With that said - there's still hope. Green can be a star in this league That's why, compared to the other players in this piece, we're giving him an especially wide berth of potential outcomes.

Floor: O.J. Mayo

Median: Monta Ellis

Ceiling: Tracy McGrady

Amen Thompson

Ben Simmons. Done. Right?

Not so fast. The Simmons comparison is apt. Thompson is also a plus-size point guard who's elite on the defensive end, has remarkable floor vision - and shoots about as well as the author of this article.

That comparison scares some Rockets fans. They may be suffering from a short memory. In 2019-20, Simmons made an All-NBA team while averaging 16.4 points, 8.0 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

Unfortunately, Simmons had a physical - and perhaps mental - breakdown shortly after. The Rockets would be thrilled if Thompson met Simmons' 2019-20 level:

As long as he can sustain it.

Floor: Evan Turner

Median: Andre Igoudala

Ceiling: 2019-20 Ben Simmons

Alperen Sengun

There's a difference between Sengun and the other players on this list - he's already a star. He's got the highest floor because he's the best player in the group.

Otherwise, we tried to avoid some obvious tropes here. There's a temptation to list Nikola Jokic as Sengun's ceiling. Still, Jokic is arguably the best offensive player in NBA history. We didn't give "athletic Magic Johnson" as Thompson's ceiling, did we?

We also considered Arvydas Sabonis. That didn't feel right either. Sengun is already better than Sabonis was by the time he got to the league, and we don't know how he'd have performed if he'd entered the league in his athletic prime.

In the end, we went a little outside of the box. We hope you have some fun with it:

We did!

Floor: Alperen Sengun

Median: Domantas Sabonis

Ceilng: DeMarcus Cousins