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San Antonio Spurs
Amen Thompson
Overtime Elite, USA
Amen Thompson
Playmaker
Height 6'7" Weight 200
Age 20.4 Wingspan 6'9"
San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio is loaded with young wings like Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell, but the team needs an energizer. Thompson could run point for the new era of the Spurs, and fit into their system with his willingness to play off the ball. For years, Thompson has excelled sharing the rock with his twin brother, Ausar, and in San Antonio he’d be paired with teammates worthy of getting touches.
Electric shot creator with a distinguished combination of passing vision and zippy athleticism.
Venn Diagaram Icon
Shades Of
Tall Ja Morant, Beanpole Zion Williamson
Athleticismbadge
Athleticism
Human Highlightbadge
Human Highlight
Ballhandlingbadge
Ballhandling
Positional Versatilitybadge
Positional Versatility
PLUSES
Otherworldly athlete. He has open-floor speed, quick-twitch bodily movements, functional control of his body, burst off the dribble, and rocket-ship verticality.
Playmaker who goes through his reads like a quarterback. He delivers every type of pass with accuracy, and with his height he can see over the defense to make passes from high angles.
Turns into Mario with a super star when he gets the ball. It speeds him up even more, but he stays under control by using hesitation moves. Going from fast to slow allows him to get wherever he wants on the court. He needs to tighten up some of his moves, but that should happen in time.
Turns steals and defensive rebounds into instant offense with immediate outlet passes. If he plays with bigs who run, he will reward them. Or he’ll rev his engine and push the ball up the court himself for powerful interior finishes.
Excellent at applying ball pressure, moving laterally, and navigating screens, consistently showing great fundamentals. He has active hands, using them to poke at the ball or simply disturb the opponent’s rhythm. But when he needs to just play solid defense, he can execute.
Makes all the right plays in help situations. If he’s rotating into the paint to stop a drive, he’s explosive enough to offer rim protection and speedy enough to close out on 3s. And if he’s switched on to a larger player trying to post him up, he battles hard to deny entry passes.
MINUSES
Defenses already dare him to shoot. NBA teams will do the same by going under ball screens or sagging off him when he’s spotting up. If his shot doesn’t develop it’ll complicate his team fit in the same way it does with Ben Simmons.
There’s little reason for optimism that he’ll become any more than a passable shooter. He struggles from the line and from the field. He’s shown a willingness to change his mechanics, but the results haven’t improved.
He’ll need to prove himself as a half-court scorer against higher-level compe ion. One of his best opportunities to prove himself to scouts came in the Basketball Tournament against a team of former Creighton players, and he showed a lack of counters when his initial penetration attempt was contained.