"I was a LeBron fan"- NBA star Amen Thompson says rooting for LeBron James turned him against Golden State Warriors

NBA youngster Amen Thompson is quickly becoming one of the league’s boldest new stars. He is not shy about discussing his competitive flame and what ignited it. The Houston Rockets point guard recently admitted on The Old Man and the Three that he is a massive LeBron James fan.

He further said that his initial dislike of the Golden State Warriors was directly driven by his love for the NBA legend.

Amen Thompson recalls rooting against Golden State Warriors during LeBron James era

During a recent podcast appearance, Amen Thompson, who is a fan of LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, acknowledged that he turned against the Golden State Warriors when they began to compete with James. This was probably a reference to the 2015-2018 NBA Finals.Twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson, two of the league's most athletic players, are big fans of LeBron. Amen further said during the same podcast: “So we wanted to be tall. My mom’s like 5’6, my dad’s like 5’7… So we wrote 6’9 all over the bed because that’s how tall we wanted to be.”

He continued:“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.’”The competition served as Amen Thompson's exposure to high-stakes basketball while he was in his early teens. The Warriors automatically became the enemy. Years have passed, and Thompson finally opened up about it.

From LeBron James’ finals battles to his own playoff clash, Amen Thompson’s feelings for Golden State Warriors runs deep

Many young NBA players might feel the same way, who grew up watching the Cavaliers-Warriors rivalry of the 2010s. For four consecutive years, the finals were characterized by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers facing Stephen Curry and the G.S.

Warriors.The Warriors walked away with three championships during that stretch, while LeBron’s Cavs secured their only victory in 2016.

After what the Warriors did to his Rockets in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, it's doubtful that Thompson likes them any more now than he did when they were playing James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the championship series. In addition to igniting long-standing feelings, the game offered Thompson an opportunity to establish himself against Stephen Curry. His performance reaffirmed the notion that, despite facing one of the most successful teams in league history, Houston has a young cornerstone that doesn't back down from a challenge.Also read: "Openly taunting LeBron"- Skip Bayless claims Los Angeles Lakers are disrespecting LeBron James by backing Luka Doncic