In a league-wide ranking by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, the Rockets’ young talents are led by Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard.
With Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore and Reed Sheppard, the 2024-25 Houston Rockets have a core of talented young prospects, including players drafted in the first round of the last four rounds.
Four of them (Green, Smith, Thompson and Sheppard) were selected in the top four of the lottery, and one of the three who didn’t make the cut – Sengun – is probably the most successful NBA player to date, as he looks to have had a near-All-Star season in 2023-24.
To say the least, it’s a great collection of young talent, among the best of any franchise in the league. But how should Houston prioritize these seven talents?
In a new episode of the Game Theory podcast, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon analyze the 24 best NBA players currently 24 years old or younger.
The three Rockets that made the list were:
- Alpine Sengun (14)
- Amen Thompson (16)
- Reed Sheppard (24)
Green (25-27) and Smith (25-27) received honorable mentions, as did Eason (28-40) and Whitmore (28-40). Both hosts repeatedly said they “love this team,” referring to the current Rockets.
The complete episodes of “24 under 24” can be viewed and/or listened to here. According to the episode description, the criteria were as follows:
Which player do you think would have the best overall career in the long term? That means the current career up to this point counts, but we also project into the future. And since these players are all still quite young, the future is more important.
More: David Aldridge: Rockets are “definitely on track” for 2024/25 season
