Amen Thompson is quickly becoming one of the NBA’s most fearless young stars, and as he embraces the spotlight, he isn’t afraid to share what shaped his competitive fire. On a recent appearance on The Old Man and the Three, the Houston Rockets guard admitted that his admiration for LeBron James directly fueled his early disdain for the Golden State Warriors.
“I was a LeBron fan, I’m not gonna lie. I didn’t dislike the Warriors until, I actually liked the Warriors until they had to start playing LeBron. And then I’m like, ‘Okay, now I hate the Warriors.’”
That kind of honesty will resonate with many NBA fans who lived through the epic Cavaliers-Warriors rivalry of the 2010s. For four straight years, the Finals were defined by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers clashing with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and eventually Kevin Durant.
The Warriors walked away with three championships during that stretch, while LeBron’s Cavs secured their lone victory in 2016, when they famously came back from a 3–1 deficit.
For Amen Thompson, who was in his early teens during those battles, the rivalry was his introduction to high-stakes basketball. Like many young fans who idolized LeBron, the Warriors became the enemy by default. And now, years later, Thompson finds himself on the floor against the very dynasty he grew up rooting against.
That dynamic played out dramatically in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, when Thompson and the Rockets went toe-to-toe with the Warriors in a grueling seven-game series. The matchup not only intensified old emotions but also gave Thompson a chance to prove himself against one of the greatest players of all time in Stephen Curry.
The 21-year-old guard embraced the assignment, taking on Curry for stretches and showing no hesitation in trying to disrupt the two-time MVP’s rhythm. While the Rockets ultimately fell short, Thompson’s defense and energy earned widespread praise.
His performance reinforced the idea that Houston has a young cornerstone who isn’t afraid of the moment, even when matched up with one of the most accomplished teams in league history.
The Warriors, for their part, have been on the receiving end of plenty of animosity from rival fan bases and players throughout their dynasty. But when the next generation of NBA talent openly admits that their basketball worldview was shaped by trying to root against Golden State, it’s a sign of how deep their influence runs.
For Amen Thompson, the story has come full circle. He grew up rooting for LeBron James, hating the Warriors in the process, and now he’s carrying that energy into his own rivalry with Golden State.
