Every time a player’s name is placed in the same sentence as Michael Jordan, it reflexively makes everyone do a double-take. It doesn’t matter if you say that this player’s game is stylistically similar to MJ’s, or if over the course of a season or a long stretch of matches their numbers were similar, or even if in a single match a player does it. something that hasn’t been done since Michael Jordan did it. It’s the weight of Michael Jordan’s name, and while any parishioner at MJ’s church is likely to cry Heresy at the mere mention of Houston Rockets rookie Amen Thompson in the same breath as His Airness, this is the category Thompson placed himself in with his performance Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Now if Amen Thompson is it a “guard” or an “attacker”? The 6’7″ rookie is listed as a small forward on Basketball-Reference, but what made him such an intriguing prospect while playing for the elite City Reapers in overtime was his ability to play n any number of positions, so for the sake of the MJ comparison, I guess I can let it slide.
Over the last fifteen games, Amen Thompson has seen his minutes increase, and his production has increased accordingly (10.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.3 blocks). Thompson is just one of two promising recruits the Rockets managed to addicted to the 2023 NBA draft . 20th overall pick Cam Whitmore is averaging 12 points per game and has scored in double figures in 16 of his last 20 games, including last night against Portland, a game in which he scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in just under 24 minutes of action.
To keep me in the good graces of the Church of MJ, here’s a little nugget for the congregation: MJ’s season low his rookie year was 13 points, a game in which he only played 24 minutes, and it was only the 8th. game of his career where Michael Jordan scored 27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks against the Indiana Pacers.
