Yesterday, the Houston Rockets signed rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.
Thompson (6-7, 215) was the fourth overall pick by Houston in the 2023 NBA Draft. He has spent the past two seasons with the Overtime Elite, (OTE), an Atlanta-based league that offers players ages 16 to 20 a path to become professional athletes. His twin brother, Osar, was selected fifth overall by Detroit, making them the first brothers to have a Top 10 selection in the same draft in NBA history.
While leading his team, the City Reapers, to an OTE championship last season, Amen averaged 17.2 points, 9.2 assists, and 7.2 rebounds off of regular season averages of 16.3 ppg, 6.2 apg, and 6.4 rpg. The 20-year-old is third in the league in assists and sixth in scoring. In 51 OTE games (regular season and playoffs), Thompson averaged 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks while shooting 53.6% from the floor.
Whitmore (6-7, 235) was the 20th overall pick by the Rockets in the 2023 NBA Draft. As a freshman at Villanova last season, he averaged 12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 spg and 1.4 on 3-point shots. Over the past 15 seasons, Whitmore was one of four Division I freshmen to average at least 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.00 spg, and 1.0 3FGM while playing less than 28.0 mpg.
At the 2022 FIBA USA Under-18 Championship, Whitmore averaged 18.7 points and was named Most Valuable Player after leading USA Basketball to a gold medal. The former McDonald’s All-American will turn 19 years old on July 8th.