The Rockets and guard Amen Thompson have reached an agreement on a five-year rookie scale extension, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal will be worth $208MM and will include a 10% trade kicker.
Thompson is earning roughly $12.3MM in 2026/27, which is the final season of the four-year rookie scale contract he signed in 2023. His extension will go into effect next summer, running through the 2031/32 season.
The fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft, Thompson has increasingly taken on a larger role over the course of his three seasons in Houston. He made the All-Defensive first team and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024/25, then led the NBA in total minutes played (2,953) in ’25/26 while establishing new career highs in points (18.3), assists (5.3), and steals (1.5) per game.
The Rockets had a net rating of +6.6 when Thompson was on the court last season, whereas that mark slipped to a team-low +1.6 when he was on the bench.
Thompson also took on more ball-handling responsibilities last season after an ACL tear sidelined starting point guard Fred VanVleet. His usage rate increased to a career-high 20.0% during the regular season.
The Rockets have now reached long-term agreements with five of their first-round picks from the 2021-23 drafts, and Thompson’s new contract will become the most lucrative of the bunch. Alperen Sengun (five years, $185MM), Jabari Smith Jr. (five years, $122MM), and Tari Eason (five years, $81.5MM) remain under contract in Houston, while Jalen Green (three years, $105MM) was sent to Phoenix in last year’s Kevin Durant trade after extending with the Rockets in 2024.
Thompson will be the second player from the 2023 draft class to sign a rookie scale extension, joining Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, who finalized a five-year, maximum-salary deal with San Antonio. There are still 20 players eligible this offseason for rookie scale extensions up until the October 19 deadline.
When our Rory Maher took an in-depth look at Thompson’s case for an extension earlier this week in a Front Office article, he projected a five-year deal in the range of $40-45MM annually. The 23-year-old’s new deal will come in at $41.6MM per year, with the potential for a pay bump via the trade kicker if he’s moved before the contract expires.
