With a game-saving block at the rim against Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, Rockets wing Amen Thompson left fans at Austin’s Moody Center in stunned disbelief.
Based on postgame comments, it sounds as if San Antonio’s players could hardly believe it, themselves.
Despite being nine inches shorter (6-foot-7 versus 7-foot-4), Thompson timed his jump perfectly and met Wembanyama at the apex. Thompson, 23, was an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection two seasons ago, and he showed that form once more on Friday’s defining play.
“I jump pretty high,” Thompson joked postgame (via Will Guillory, The Athletic). “I wouldn’t try to keep dunking on me. But if they want to, they can.”
Tom Orsborn, a longtime writer with the San Antonio Express-News, shared a handful
of Spurs reactions on his X account.
Dylan Harper, a rising star in his second NBA season, said:
That’s a freakish athletic play. I mean, that’s one out of a million times that I think anyone’s going to do that.
Harper on Thompson's block of Wemby:
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) October 24, 2026
"That's a freakish athletic play. I mean, that's one out of a million times that I think anyone's going to do that."
De’Aaron Fox added:
Hell of a play, hell of a play. He’s one of the best athletes that has probably ever graced the face of this earth. He made a hell of a play.
As for Wembanyama, he said he wished he had tried to dunk the ball, rather than laying it up. But when asked if he had ever had that shot blocked before, he said succinctly:
Not like this.
Wemby on what he would have done differently move-wise vs. Thompson at the end: "I would have dunked the ball."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) October 24, 2026
Asked if he has ever had that particular shot blocked before, Wemby said, "Not like this."
“Man, what an incredible block,” Rockets star Kevin Durant surmised. “To trust Amen to guard a 7-5 guy whose game is turning around and dunking on people like that. It was just insane.”
Thompson finished Friday’s game with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals while making 9-of-15 shots (60.0%) from the field.
As for the Spurs, after advancing to the 2026 NBA Finals, San Antonio is currently winless (0-2) to begin its 2026-27 campaign. However, it’s worth noting that those two losses came to Houston and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a pair of perceived Western Conference heavyweights.
The Rockets, who blew out the Dallas Mavericks in Wednesday’s regular-season opener, are now 2-0.
Next up for Houston is Saturday’s game at Atlanta, which will be on night two of a road back-to-back. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Central, and the game will be televised and streamed regionally on Space City Home Network (SCHN) and nationally via NBA League Pass.
De'Aaron Fox on Amen Thompson blocking Wemby to seal the win for Houston: “Hell of a play, hell of a play…He's one of the best athletes that has probably ever graced the face of this earth. He made a hell of a play."
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) October 24, 2026
AMEN THOMPSON. GAME-SEALING BLOCK. https://t.co/9luLFIX4Pm pic.twitter.com/UiHCEGs2ps
— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2026
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ‘One out of a million’: Spurs stunned by Amen Thompson’s winning block
