Amen Thompson

Fantasy managers were excited to see what Thompson could do at the end of his rookie season, and he built on that even more as a sophomore. He began the year coming off the bench but eventually took a starting spot from fellow young-gun Jabari Smith. In Thompson's final 41 regular-season appearances, he averaged 15.6 points on 55.8 percent from the floor, 9.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks in 36.0 minutes. He established himself first and foremost as a defender, earning First Team All-Defense honors. And while Thompson is also a gifted passer and rebounder, the most important upgrade he'll need to make to his game is shooting. For his career, he's just 33-for-149 (22.1%) from distance and 275-for-402 (68.5%) from the charity stripe. But even if that never develops in a meaningful way, Thompson is already a starting-caliber NBA player and a top-50 fantasy asset. This season, the Rockets look different, swapping out Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks for Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith. It's a major team upgrade, but very similar usage-to-usage. That means Thompson still has a runway to grow as a player, especially as Fred VanVleet ages. There's a ceiling to what Thompson can do given his limited shooting and the relatively high-usage players around him, but with VanVleet likely to spend almost all of the regular season on the sidelines to nurse a torn ACL, Thompson is still one of the best upside picks in fantasy and should spend more time with the ball in his hands throughout 2025-26. Read Past Outlooks