"If You Take One More Dribble When You're Open...": Amen Thompson Issues Stern Warning To Reed Sheppard
Nov 14, 2025
Amen Thompson is the type of player who lets his game do all the talking. But, as one of his teammates found out the hard way, Thompson won’t shy away from delivering a straightforward message.
During a recent media availability, Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard told a story about Thompson getting in his face. It wasn’t because of a personal dispute; as a matter of fact, Thompson had his teammate’s best interests at heart.
“Amen told me in the weight room just a minute ago, ‘If you take one more dribble when you’re open, and there’s no shooting, I’m gonna punch you in the face,’” Sheppard told reporters.
Sheppard, of course, understood both the hilarity and the not-so-subtle intent of Thompson’s comment. After making a name for himself as a gunner for Duke, Sheppard struggled to shoot in his rookie season with the Rockets, putting up just 4.4 points per game on 33.8% shooting from deep in limited minutes. This season, the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has improved his numbers to 12.2 ppg on a 50.0% shooting clip from outside.
In short, Thompson doesn’t want Sheppard to lose one ounce of his newly found confidence. For his part, the reserve guard praised Thompson for having his back. “Just having those guys saying, ‘Keep shooting’...all that stuff is huge,” Sheppard added.
Thompson, meanwhile, is backing up his talk with solid stats of his own. As a starting guard in the Rockets’ first 10 games, he is averaging 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per outing. On a team that is seventh in defensive rating, Thompson is second in defensive win shares, proving his immense value as Houston builds its identity on that end of the floor.
Sheppard, meanwhile, is one of the best scorers off the Rockets' bench. Even when Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Alperen Sengun take a seat, the likes of Sheppard and Tari Eason ensure that Houston’s second unit packs enough firepower.
In his sophomore season, Sheppard is beginning to unlock his potential as a dependable scorer. Just in case he forgets what a skilled sniper he can be, Thompson will be there to send him another stern warning.
