The Houston Rockets have picked up their team options for the 2026–27 season on guards Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, the club confirmed on Friday, October 31, 2025.
Thompson’s fourth-year option is valued at $12,258,609, while Sheppard’s third-year option comes in at $11,108,880. Both decisions were finalized on the league’s deadline day, though the moves had been widely expected given the players’ roles in Houston’s long-term plans.
Selected fourth overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, Thompson will become extension-eligible in the 2026 offseason. The 6-foot-7 guard earned All-Defensive First Team honors last season and is averaging 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 33.5 minutes through four games this year.
Sheppard, chosen third overall in 2024, logged only 12.6 minutes per game across 52 appearances as a rookie. With veteran guard Fred VanVleet sidelined by an ACL injury, the 6-foot-3 Kentucky product has been pressed into a larger role, posting 10.0 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 22.5 minutes through his first four outings while hitting 36.4% from beyond the arc.
The Rockets will face one more rookie-scale decision on Sheppard next fall, when his $14.04 million option for the 2027–28 campaign comes due.
Following Houston’s moves, only the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks have yet to announce their 2026–27 rookie-scale option decisions.
Source: Hoops Rumors
