I had honestly enver heard of the guy coming into this NBA season, picked him up on my fantasy team in december he put up almost 90% from the line to go with very solid pts and reb. I know he's on a bad kings team and I never get a chance to watch them play so I wanted to know what you guys thought about the guy. Is he a good player down the line or just a guy putting up numbers on a bad team.
He's got good height and athleticism and is still developing physically as in he's going to put on more weight/strength. He's very mobile for a big man and is putting up nice numbers for a big man in his rookie year. He's for real and will only get better. I don't understand this so called concept of "players putting up numbers since they're on bad teams". That is the biggest BS I've ever heard. If a player puts up numbers there's a reason for why they're putting up numbers and it's usually cause they're GOOD. Of course there's rare exceptions like Mike James in Toronto where he put up great numbers on a bad team but we all know he is a good, oops, let me re-iterate, was a good player at one point in time especially when playing for a big contract. Here's a couple different examples: Stromile Swift. He couldn't put up numbers on a sorry Grizzlies team or a Rockets team that was severely lacking a quality 4. Why? It's cause he sucks. Jason Thompson does not. Another example: Mo Williams. Many people thought he just put up big numbers in Milwaukee because they're a bad team. He's playing better and putting up equal numbers on a contender now. There's a couple more exceptions like playing for Jerry Sloan's team or playing next to a great PG i.e Marion when he had Nash, K-mart when he had Kidd, Chandler/West being spoon fed by CP3. However, the point I'm trying to make is if your consistently putting up solid numbers especially in your rookie year as a big man without a great PG chances are your pretty damn good.
I think Thompson is a guy that surprisingly hit the ground running as a rookie and has done better than anyone thought. Some of it has to do with getting 25 mins/game on a sorry team. I think he will be a 15/9 16/10 guy for a few years. I remember the stunned reaction when the Kings drafted him at #12. They are the ones laughing now.
I saw Jason play when my roommates and I went to the Kings Celtics game in Boston. He was very surprising. He finished well with both hands around the basket, had a solid array of post moves, did not shy away from contact, and overall showed that he is definitely a player in this league. On top of his finishing skills, he's also long and athletic. I am pretty impressed.
