Story by
Budding Rockets star Amen Thompson earns NBA Defensive Player of the Month honor
- Story by
- Budding Rockets star Amen Thompson earns NBA Defensive Player of the Month honor
On Tuesday, the NBA announced that Houston Rockets guard/forward Amen Thompson was named Kia Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for January. The award was established this season, making Thompson the first recipient in franchise history.
The Rockets went 11-4 in January, with Thompson starting all 12 of his games played while averaging 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.5 blocks. He was the only player in the league to have averaged at least 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game last month.
Advertisement
According to NBA.com, Thompson was one of three players in January who averaged at least 20.0 minutes played while accounting for at least 40.0% of his team's blocks, 25.0% of steals, and 30.0% of defensive rebounds. For the month, the Rockets averaged a league-best 10.7 steals and forced the third-most turnovers (16.1 per) while scoring the third-most points off turnovers (20.5 per).
Houston is allowing the sixth-fewest points per game in the NBA this season (108.8) and ranks sixth in field-goal defense (45.5%). Thompson has the seventh-lowest defensive field-goal percentage (41.2%) of any player with 20-plus games played while defending at least 10.0 shots per game.
Overall, Thompson is averaging 13.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game this season. He joins Atlanta 's Jalen Johnson as the only players averaging at least 8.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks.
In 19 games as a starter this season, Thompson is averaging 17.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.7 blocks. He is one of six players with more than five starts this season who are averaging at least 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists as starters (joining Alperen Sengun , Giannis Antetokounmpo , Jalen Johnson, Nikola Jokić , and Domantas Sabonis ).
Advertisement
On Monday, Feb. 3 in New York, Thompson recorded his third career triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists. He has scored 20-plus points in nine of his past 23 games played after doing so just four times in his first 85 career games. Thompson already has 14 double-doubles this season after recording 13 as a rookie in 2023-24.
With Thompson in a prominently featured role and starting for nearly the entire month, Houston finished January at 32-15 and in the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings . It's a dramatic improvement for a franchise that went 41-41 in Thompson's rookie season and 22-60 in 2022-23, the year prior to Thompson's arrival as the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA's 2023 first round.
More: NBA names Houston's Ime Udoka as Western Conference Coach of the Month for January
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Amen Thompson earns Defensive Player of the Month honors for January
