Amen Thompson has agreed to a five-year, $208 million rookie-scale contract extension with the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported Thursday, September 3, that the deal also includes a 10% trade kicker, securing one of Houston’s most important young players for the long term after Thompson’s strongest NBA season.
The 23-year-old took another major step in 2025-26, averaging career highs of 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals across 79 games. Thompson started every game he played and averaged a league-high 37.4 minutes per contest while shooting 53.4% from the field.
His production placed him among only nine NBA players last season to average at least 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. The group also included Rockets teammate Alperen Sengun, along with Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Johnson, Paolo Banchero, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum.
Thompson also continued to make an impact defensively. He ranked eighth in total steals and fourth in loose-ball recoveries, according to Charania, and finished eighth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
That followed an even stronger defensive showing in 2024-25, when Thompson finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned All-Defensive First Team honors. He averaged 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks that season.
Since Houston selected him fourth overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, Thompson has appeared in 210 games with 144 starts. He owns career averages of 14.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 54.1% from the field.
The extension reinforces Thompson’s place alongside Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason as Houston’s long-term core. Eason also signed a five-year extension this offseason, while the Rockets added veteran guards Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Houston went 52-30 last season, finishing fifth in the Western Conference before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the opening round of the playoffs. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 26.0 points per game, while Sengun averaged 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
