Lenape grad Thompson living NBA dream

Jason Thompson understands how fortunate he is to be an NBA player. The Lenape graduate, who helped lead the Indians to the NJSIAA Group 4 state title as a senior in 2004, is completing his third season with the Sacramento Kings, a team that has moved down in the standings and may be moving to Anaheim after the season.

For Thompson, this has been a frustrating season, although it was difficult to tell by his performance in Sunday's 114-111 overtime win at the Wells Fargo Center against the 76ers. Thompson came off the bench to contribute 15 points (5 of 8 from the field) and 11 rebounds in nearly 26 minutes.

"With family and friends watching you have a little more energy," Thompson said afterward in an upbeat locker room after his team had finished a 4-1 road trip.

Despite the recent strong play, this has been a downer of a season for the Kings, who at 20-52 are following a familiar recent pattern. In Thompson's three seasons, the Kings are 62-174.

"A lot of people say you are in a blessed situation in the NBA, doing what you dream. But when you are a competitor like me, it gets frustrating, especially since this is my third year," Thompson said. "It kind of gets to you after a while."

He has coped with it by talking with veterans such as Kings teammate Samuel Dalembert, the former Sixers center.

"Jason is very passionate and wants to win so bad," Dalembert said. "He will talk to me and tell me that he can't take losing, and I try to listen and help keep young players focused."

Dalembert said that Thompson is the ideal teammate.

"I love playing with him," he said.

Another frustrating aspect is that the 6-foot-11 Thompson, who can play power forward or center, is seeing less time on the court.

As a rookie, after being the 12th overall pick in the NBA draft out of Rider, Thompson averaged 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 28.1 minutes in 2008-09.

Last year, he averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 31.4 minutes.

This season he is averaging 8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 22.6 minutes.

"I am not getting the minutes the way I did the first couple of years, and it's been tough. But you always go through adversity as a player, and I try to take what I get and control what I can control," Thompson said.

Kings coach Paul Westphal said one reason for the fewer minutes was that the Kings acquired Dalembert, in addition to drafting center DeMarcus Cousins with their first-round pick. And before trading Carl Landry last month to New Orleans, there was a logjam at the power forward/center position.

"Jason is doing well," Westphal said. "Earlier when we had Dalembert, Cousins and Landry that certainly crowded things at Jason's position."

Now it's a little less crowded without Landry, but Thompson is still coming off the bench.

"Jason is a good young player," Westphal said. "He is versatile enough to play [power forward] or [center], and he is coming along nicely in his career."

Thompson has always enjoyed the South Jersey area and spends considerable time at home during the offseason. He said he may be conducting a basketball camp in South Jersey this summer and is still working on the details.

More than anything, Thompson yearns to return to the winning ways he had in high school, like in 2004 when Lenape was 28-0 before losing in the Tournament of Champions to Bloomfield Tech. The Indians were The Inquirer's No. 1 South Jersey team that season.

"Lenape was undefeated and won a state championship and really brought a buzz back to South Jersey," Thompson said.

Winning a title is always cherished whether a player goes on to professional glory or never plays another game after high school. Thompson will always embrace the winning times he enjoyed at Lenape, while hoping that he can enjoy a similar experience in his NBA future.