Houston Rockets second-year forward Amen Thompson was selected for the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge on Tuesday, an unsurprising development for the 21-year-old who has become a league-wide sensation.

There's a legitimate argument for Thompson to remain as the starter when Smith returns. The Rockets have found the same success with Thompson in the starting lineup, and he's been producing at a higher level. Based on his seamless fit in the first five, head coach Ime Udoka will have a tough decision to make soon.

I t wasn’t hard to come up with a list of reasons for why Amen Thompson could bust in the NBA when he entered the 2023 draft. Amen and his twin brother Ausar took a novel path t