Rockets' Amen Thompson must make the leap in this area

The Houston Rockets love what they've seen from Amen Thompson so far. They still need him to take a leap as a ball-handler to be the team they want to be in 2025-26.

That's not to say everything hinges on Thompson. That would be an unfair burden. The Rockets need Kevin Durant to avoid age-related regression. They need Alperen Sengun's efficiency to return to previous levels, and for Reed Sheppard to provide rotation-quality play. Still, Thompson's play feels like the critical X-factor:

Consider that a credit to his natural ability.

Rockets know Thompson has star upside

Let's start with the positives. Thompson already has a strong case as the best wing defender in the NBA. That's a remarkable statement to make about a sophomore, but it's inarguably true.

The offensive end is more of a mixed bag for Thompson. His poor jumpshot makes it difficult for him to generate self-created offense. As an isolation scorer, Thompson generated 0.85 Points Per Possession (PPP) in 2024-25, good for the 41.3rd percentile. He wasn't much better as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, where he produced 0.84 PPP (46.2nd percentile).

Thompson did well as a cutter. He generated 1.36 PPP in cuts, which ranked in the 63.8th percentile. That's great. It's a valuable skill, and it gives Thompson some off-ball utility. His ability to cut makes him particularly dangerous when Sengun has the ball on the elbow or in the high post:

But he needs to be dangerous with the ball in his hands, too.

Rockets need on-ball leap from Thompson

Let's go back to last year's playoffs.

Thompson struggled mightily for the first three games. Over the last four, he averaged 20.0 points and 2.5 assists per game on 54.9% shooting from the field. It was a far cry from Thompson's passive Game 1, when he finished with 8 points and 6 assists.

What happened? Thompson got aggressive. He started going to the rim at will. The results speak for themselves:

For better and for worse.

It would certainly be optimal for Thompson to rack up more assists. Nobody should judge his facilitating ability based on four games in the playoffs. Thompson found what was working, and it was getting to the basket for dunks and layups. That's fine, but Houston needs him to make use of his outstanding passing ability as a ball-handler in 2025-26.

More broadly, he needs to land in higher isolation and pick-and-roll percentiles. The Rockets' roster is vastly improved, but Jalen Green did have ball-handling responsibilities. Kevin Durant will take some of them, but he'll also want to be set up instead of being the set-up man.

Sheppard needs to improve, but he'll still be a sophomore with limited NBA experience. For the Rockets to compete for the title, they need Thompson to be more than a defensive wing with secondary playmaking chops. They need him to be some kind of threat with the ball in his hands:

Based on what they've seen so far, a leap feels likely.