The Houston Rockets and Amen Thompson agreed to a contract extension on Thursday that will pay the 23-year-old $208 million over five years, according to ESPN. Thompson was eligible for a 25% max contract worth around $252 million over five years, but the Rockets once again worked out a deal with one of their young stars for less than the max to create a bit more flexibility. Thompson's new deal is similar to Alperen Sengun's extension that clocks in at just over 21% of the cap.
It's a deal that mitigates risk on both sides. For Thompson, he gets a deal done that pays him more than $41 million annually and avoids going to restricted free agency, where even earning an All-NBA selection like Jalen Duren won't guarantee a robust market. For the Rockets, they lock up Thompson long-term without having to give him the full max or Rose Rule escalators that could've made this deal prohibitively expensive, and they won't have to go through what are often ugly restricted free agency negotiations that strain the relationship between the team and player.
At the same time, the Rockets are putting their faith in Thompson to continue growing into a legitimate star player. Thompson last year averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game on 53.7/21.6/77.9 shooting splits, continuing to show improvement as an all-around player. While an average annual value of $41.6 million isn't as much as it could've been, the Rockets will have about 43% of their cap tied up between Thompson and Sengun's contracts going forward.
That's a considerable amount for two non-shooters (Sengun is a career 28.1% 3-point shooter), and in the modern NBA landscape, that's not an en vogue team-building archetype. The Rockets saw the challenges of their current build on full display in their first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, where they failed to crack 100 points in four of the six games. Thompson had a solid series, but saw his efficiency dip as the Lakers poked at Houston's lack of shooting to wall off the rim.
Shooting is undoubtedly the swing skill for Thompson to be a top-end star on the wing, but the rest of Thompson's skill set is tantalizing and could create a path to making this contract look like a bargain. He's among the best and most versatile perimeter defenders in the league, and his athleticism is off the charts, applying constant pressure on the rim. In spite of his woeful 3-point shooting percentage, Thompson took a considerable step forward last season as a free-throw shooter, improving from a 68.4% rate in 2024-25 to a 77.9% clip in 2025-26.
If that improvement belies the potential for strides forward from the perimeter -- even just adding a midrange threat like Giannis Antetokounmpo -- he could become an even greater offensive force given how dangerous he is attacking downhill. At just 23 years old, the Rockets are willing to bank on there being even more room for Thompson to develop and sharpen his game to live up to this contract and more.
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