標籤: Amen

The Houston Rockets are suffering a first round exit in the NBA playoffs, extending their streak to six seasons without a semifinal appearance. While the Rockets’ young core didn’t take a step forward this season, it appears as if one of them is going to be rewarded with a big deal.

According to Sam Amick and William Guillory of The Athletic, the Rockets are expected to sign Amen Thompson to a contract extension this offseason that will be worth more than $250 million over five years.

Thompson, age 23, earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors last season. Selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, many around the league have been high on the 6-foot-7 wing for his length and excellent defensive ability. In each of the last two seasons, he has been viewed as a player who could make the leap to superstardom and Houston has been unwilling to include him in any trade proposal to bring in an established superstar.

When Thompson signs a five-year contract extension worth more than $250 million, his average annual salary of more than $50 million will make him one of the six highest-paid shooting guards in the NBA. He will be paid similar to Donovan Mitchell and slightly ahead of Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards ($48.924 million average annual value).

Importantly, according to The Athletic, Rockets ownership is giving the front office clearance to spend more on the roster next season and it looks to keep the young core together. However, that could be a problem for Houston once the contract extension takes effect.

Why the Rockets might regret Amen Thompson contract extension?

Entering the offseason, the Rockets payroll for the 2026-27 season is already $184.925 million, according to Basketball Reference. Alperen Sengun is now making more than $35 million per year, Jabari Smith Jr.’s extension also kicks in next season and nearly doubles his salary to $23.643 million. In addition to adding more than $50 million for Thompson, the Rockets will commit $200 million to key players who have not gone to the Western Conference Semifinals together.

There were also some real signs of the limitations of Thompson’s game this season. While he averaged 19.2 points per game in the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, this came in 44 minutes per game and 14.3 shot attempts per contest.

In his third NBA season, Thompson did not consistently demonstrate the ability to be a primary scorer who could get his shot and take over games during the playoffs. However, a $250 million contract extension is paying him to perform at that level.

All the money owed on the current core, in addition to the team’s desires to bring in another star this summer, could complicate the ability to retain Terry Eason. Even if Eason returns, it will be one of the most expensive rosters in the NBA and has no postseason success to show for it.

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including the weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

Amen Thompson put the cherry on top of a historic night with a wild game-winner. The Houston Rockets guard wasn’t the story for most of the game, but he became the hero of the night by shutting out the Miami Heat with a tip-in in the last seconds at the buzzer.

Trailing by one on the final possession of the game, the Rockets turned the ball into the hands of Kevin Durant, who had passed Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list before the game. Durant missed a wild floater and was buried by Bam Adebayo, but Thompson flew in to clear the glass and signal the game-winner.

Amen Thompson suggests this for the win 🔥pic.twitter.com/XYhAMbwjYC

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 22 March 2026

A game-winner could have capped off a perfect game for Durant, but it was Thompson’s night. The last-second tip also had Thompson’s career-high 18th rebound of the night, including seven on the offensive glass.

This is a developing story.

On Sunday night, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Houston Rockets, winning 145-120 thanks to a stellar offensive performance from the entire team. They shot over 50 percent overall on the night, and were so unstoppable, making 21 of their 40 three-point attempts that kept the Rockets away for most of the night.

A moment during the game caught the attention of many people. Fans caught Amen Thompson confronting Stephen Castle, while the Spurs sophomore turned to his head coach Mitch Johnson for some advice.

Others will protect their privacy when speaking to their head coach. There was no castle. After all, the Spurs guard believes that even if the Rockets know what their strategies are, they will still won’t be able to do anything To compete with them somehow.

“I went out there and talked to (the coaches) about what I needed to talk about. It didn’t really matter if the other team knew what we were going to do or if they knew our game. I didn’t think they were going to stop it, so it didn’t really matter,” Cassel said, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Steph Cassel: “I went out there and talked to (Johnson) about what I needed to talk about. It doesn’t really matter if the other team knows what we’re going to do or they know our game. I don’t think they were going to stop it, so it doesn’t really matter.” https://t.co/j1SVupuhzl

– Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) 9 March 2026

Now that’s a cool response that shows just how confident the Spurs are – and why they showed on Sunday they are ahead of the Rockets as a competitive team.

Victor Wembanyama effect is on full display for Spurs

In recent years it has become even more clear that teams prioritize identifying their best players. For the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama is bringing unstoppable confidence every night, and there isn’t a single person in the NBA that Wembanyama is afraid of.

This young Spurs team, who owns the second-best record in the NBA at 47-17, carries itself with so much swag that it shouldn’t be a surprise if they win it all this year.

周日晚上，圣安东尼奥马刺队凭借全队出色的进攻以 145-120 击败休斯顿火箭队。当晚他们的整体投篮命中率超过了 50%，而且他们势不可挡，40 次三分球出手 21 次，让火箭在整个晚上的大部分时间都处于困境。

比赛过程中，有一个瞬间吸引了很多人的目光。球迷们看到阿门·汤普森（Amen Thompson）护着斯蒂芬·卡斯尔（Stephon Castle），尽管这位马刺二年级生走向主教练米奇·约翰逊（Mitch Johnson）寻求建议。

其他人在与主教练交谈时会保护自己的隐私。城堡不是。毕竟，马刺后卫认为，即使火箭知道自己的策略是什么，他们 将无能为力 无论如何都要与他们战斗。

“我去那里和（教练）讨论了我需要讨论的内容。对方球队是否知道我们要做什么或者他们知道我们的比赛并不重要。我不认为他们会阻止它，所以这并不重要，”据The Athletic的贾里德·韦斯报道，卡斯尔说道。

斯蒂芬·卡斯尔：“我去那里和（约翰逊）讨论了我需要讨论的内容。其他球队是否知道我们要做什么或者他们知道我们的比赛并不重要。我不认为他们会阻止它，所以这并不重要。” https://t.co/j1SVupuhzl

— 贾里德·韦斯 (@JaredWeissNBA) 2026 年 3 月 9 日

现在，这是一个冷酷的回应，显示了马刺队有多么自信——以及为什么他们在周日表现出他们作为一支有竞争力的球队远远超过火箭队。

维克多·温班亚马效应在马刺队中得到充分体现

近年来，球队追逐自己最佳球员的身份变得更加明显。对于马刺队来说，维克托·温班亚马每晚都带来毫不掩饰的自信，而且在 NBA 中没有一个人是温班亚马害怕的。

这支年轻的马刺队以 47 胜 17 负的战绩排名联盟第二，他们的气势如此之大，即使他们今年最终赢得了全部冠军，也不足为奇。