Over the weekend, former NBA head coach David Fizdale had high praise for Houston Rockets rookie Amen Thompson - and he didn’t hold back. Speaking on NBA TV’s The Association, Fizdale called Thompson a “beast” of a point guard, pushing back on the growing chatter that Houston needs to bring in a more traditional floor general.
Now, let’s be honest - Thompson’s rookie campaign has been anything but steady. It’s been a rollercoaster, full of flashes of brilliance mixed with the growing pains you’d expect from a 20-year-old still figuring out his role in the league. The Rockets have been experimenting with him as a point guard, and the results have been, well, experimental - sometimes promising, sometimes puzzling.
To be clear, this isn’t all on Thompson. He’s not a natural point guard in the traditional sense.
He’s got the vision, the athleticism, and the motor - but that doesn’t automatically make him a primary facilitator. And that’s where the debate starts: should the Rockets keep molding him into a lead guard, or shift him into a role that better suits his strengths?
Fizdale thinks the answer is clear: stay the course.
“They’ve got a beast of one (a point guard). What are we talking about?”
Fizdale said. “Look at what the guy is doing.
He is running the team like he’s been doing it for a while. Which he has, by the way.
I keep telling everybody that he did in high school, and he came from OTE (Overtime Elite). He did it there.”
It’s worth noting, though, that there’s a world of difference between running the show in OTE and doing it in the NBA. The pace, the physicality, the defensive schemes - it’s a different universe. And anyone who’s watched the Rockets this season can see that Thompson is at his most dangerous when he’s off the ball - cutting, slashing, and attacking the rim, not standing at the top of the key orchestrating the offense.
That’s why we’ve seen Houston lean into more creative sets lately, including inverted pick-and-rolls where Thompson is the screener, not the ball handler. It’s a smart adjustment - one that plays to his strengths and keeps defenses on their heels.
Fizdale, perhaps without realizing it, actually pointed to this in his own breakdown of Thompson’s role.
“The beauty of what they do in the halfcourt is they give the ball to KD to handle, or (Alperen) Sengun to handle, and they put him (Thompson) on the baseline,” he said. “And every time you trap one of those guys, they hit that short roll, and he’s at the rim.”
That’s not exactly how a traditional point guard is used - and that’s okay.
Thompson doesn’t need to be Chris Paul to be effective. What he brings is unique: elite size and athleticism, defensive versatility, and a nose for the rim. The Rockets are still figuring out how to maximize that, but the blueprint is starting to take shape.
Whether or not Houston eventually brings in a more conventional point guard remains to be seen. The options are limited, and the front office may decide that development - not a quick fix - is the better long-term play.
But what’s clear is that Amen Thompson has a role in this team’s future. It just might not be the one some expected.
And if Fizdale’s right, the Rockets already have their point guard of the future. Just not the kind we’re used to seeing.