On September 23, the Houston Rockets began training camp ahead of the 2026-27 NBA season.
The Rockets had a pretty busy offseason, and one of their biggest moves was signing Amen Thompson to a five-year, $208 million extension.
Thompson is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 53.4% from the field, but he continued to struggle from 3-point range at just 21.6%.
Rockets Get Good Amen Thompson News
One of the biggest flaws of Amen Thompson’s game has been his shooting. He makes up for it with his athleticism and defense, but he will need to develop a shot if he wants to become an All-Star and elite player in the league.
Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s practice, Reed Sheppard had some pretty good news for Rockets fans regarding Thompson’s shooting.
“The shot looks really good,” Sheppard said via Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle. “It’s a lot smoother, and his body looks different. He also gained a lot of weight this summer. You can tell he’s been in the gym and improving.”
That’s pretty good news for the Rockets since they will need Thompson to take the next leap to superstardom.
His offense has been mainly focused on attacking the basket, but he has to establish himself as a great third option on scoring behind Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.
Thompson had a pretty solid playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. He had better averages, but his shooting remained a non-factor.
Amen Thompson on Improving His Shooting
On Sunday’s post-practice media availability, Amen Thompson discussed the strides he has made in his shooting over the summer. Thompson was pretty confident about the improvement in his game, which should make the fans and the franchise happy.
“I mean, yeah, they’ve got to talk about something,” Thompson said. “So, I feel like I’m really good at a lot of things. I’m really passionate, you know, on the court, and it’s fun to do that. I guess you pick on that one thing, but I mean, I work on it every day. I know I’m going to be a good shooter, so it doesn’t matter.”
Thompson will have the opportunity to focus more on scoring this season. He was forced to be the team’s primary ball-handler last season due to Fred VanVleet‘s injury.
With VanVleet back and healthy, Thompson won’t have an added responsibility to create offense for his teammates.
Huge Amen Thompson News Emerges Amid Houston Rockets Training Camp