Amen also becomes the fifth ever Houston Rocket to make the NBA All-Defensive First Team, joining the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, Rodney McCray, Scottie Pippen and Patrick Beverly. All who played decorated respective NBA careers.

A whole generation of opponents are going to learn the same lessons about the Rockets' stand-out defensive guru that Steph Curry already did.

He's not. Nobody is. Curry gave Thompson, who is already probably the best defender in the league not named Victor Wembanyama, a quick reality check with 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting in Game 1. He had 36 in Game 3 with Houston's entire defense chasing him in the absence of Jimmy Butler .

One of the main missing components for the Houston Rockets during their strong season was the lack of experience in high-stakes situations. Now, the Rockets hav

Amen Thompson took a major step forward in Year 2, and he's just one of the many talented players that make up the youth movement in H-Town.

Even before TNT NBA analyst Stan Van Gundy made the reference early in Game 2 of the Golden State-Houston series, I had the same thought after watching the Rockets’ Amen Thompson get clobbered ...