It s decided! The Rockets 22-year-old star was selected for the defense for a while, and the only non-sale product in Houston has surfaced

On May 23, the first and second teams of the NBA's All-Defensive Team were officially announced. Among them, Rockets forward Amen Thompson was successfully shortlisted for the All-Defensive Team. Along with him were the Hawks' steal king Daniels, Thunder's defensive outside player Dort, Cavaliers' best defensive player Mobley and Warriors' veteran Zhuang Meng Green.

It can be said that whether it is in the regular season this season or in the playoffs, the Rockets' Amen Thompson is one of the team's biggest surprises. Amen Thompson's scoring data has increased this season, but more importantly, he can play in five positions alone. When Van Vreet was injured and absent, Amen Thompson was the main point guard of the Rockets; and when Amen Thompson changed to play power forward, Smith Jr. and Ethan couldn't compete with him.

In addition, Amen Thompson has now firmly locked the starting power forward position. In this position, he can not only defend inside players to complete the basket protection, but also grab rebounds frantically, especially frontcourt rebounds, and even send blocks and steals. In the power forward position, Amen Thompson can also defend outside players from time to time. With height, speed and athleticism, he is indeed a defensive expert with both inside and outside the Rockets. This time he was shortlisted for the best defensive team, which can be said to be well deserved.

Moreover, when Amen Thompson defended one-on-one, he was one of the top players in the league. Therefore, Amen Thompson became the first player to be shortlisted for the first-team best defensive team in the Rockets since the 2016-17 season. It can be said that in the draft two years ago, the Rockets did not see the wrong person.

Although the Rockets missed the No. 1 pick and even missed the super center Wenban Yama, winning Amen Thompson with the No. 4 draw should be the Rockets' ideal choice. After all, judging from his performance this season, Amen Thompson beats Brandon Miller of the Hornets and Trail Blazers defender Henderson, and he is also the most successful among the 2023 rookies.

It is said that the core of the Rockets is Alperen Shinkyung, Jaylen Green and Shinkyung, and there is also an offensive engine Van Vreet in the backcourt, but it has to be said that if the Rockets meet a superstar who can be traded, they will definitely chase it, and Amen Thompson is obviously the only non-sale product for the Rockets. It is unknown whether Van Vreet will stay in the team next season, and rumors of Jaylen Green and Shin Kyoto being traded not long ago have emerged. For example, Antetokounmpo of the Bucks can be used to use Shin Kyung or Jaylen Green to package other players and draft picks to exchange.

However, many experts or NBA celebrities basically agree that the Rockets do not need to exchange Amen Thompson for Antetokounmpo, because Amen Thompson is 8 years younger than Antetokounmpo. This is only his second season and he has such an outstanding performance. With a few more years, Amen Thompson can become the Rockets' own Antetokounmpo and become the cornerstone of the team's team building.

Therefore, compared to players like Shin Kyung and Jaylen Green, Amen Thompson is both offense and defense, and he is the Rockets' non-sale product, and even Houston's only non-sale product. This time he was selected for the Best Defensive Team, which further strengthened the Rockets' belief that they would not trade 22-year-old Amen Thompson.