PHILADELPHIA – Jason Thompson looked incredulous, trying to comprehend how he could be mentioned in the same sentence with Orlando phenom Dwight Howard.

The comparison was based on age alone – they're both 22 – but the Kings rookie forward wanted to make sure it stopped there.

"You trying to compare me to Dwight?" he asked the reporter.

Note to those watching Thompson's early days with curiosity: His obvious confidence stops well short of delusional.

Yet while Thompson nor the rest of the planet was born with the raw talent and athleticism of Howard, his play against the beast from the East was merely the latest solid outing for the 6-foot-11, 250-pounder. Thompson had 12 points and five rebounds in 24 minutes, repeatedly attacking the rim from the post or burying long-range jumpers.

His play during the Kings' 0-3 start has been their big-picture bonus. Thompson has looked like a seasoned veteran with his comfort level and ability to produce. In the three games, he has totaled 40 points on 17-of-28 shooting (60.7 percent) and 22 rebounds in 65 minutes. Coupled with the strong play from second-year center Spencer Hawes, the Kings' potential frontcourt of the future is already impressing around the league.

"(The Kings) have done an unbelievable job of finding some extremely skilled young big guys," said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy, who chose the Magic job over the Kings' post last summer before Reggie Theus was hired. "Spencer Hawes was a guy that not everybody in the world was talking about coming out (of Washington) in the (2007) draft. And watching film, we were super-impressed with him.

"And Jason Thompson, who I know our scouts liked also, was just outstanding.… Those guys are so skilled out on the floor – shooting the ball, (they) can go inside. I think they've got the nucleus."

With 79 games remaining, no one within the Kings organization is content to merely develop the youth just yet. With the upstart 76ers next on the docket, winning remains high on the priority list, and Friday's return of suspended center Brad Miller should help to that end. But as a first impression of what's to come from their past two first-round draft picks, the signs are encouraging.

Hawes added to his growth chart midway through the third quarter against the Magic. With Orlando's Rashard Lewis seemingly alone on a fast break, Hawes sprinted the length of the floor and hurled his 7-foot frame toward the rim to stop the dunk and put Lewis on the line.

What might be a learned physicality trait for Hawes seems to come instinctively for Thompson.

His four years of collegiate experience, Thompson said, have everything to do with his comfort level. He started his career at Rider coming off the bench as well, so he has taken a similar road to relative prominence before.

Taking the starting job of veteran Mikki Moore, however, is another matter.

"Mikki's job is not in jeopardy at all," Theus said before the Kings played in Miami. "If (young players) earn their minutes, they will get their minutes. (But) you've got to do something above and beyond to take a veteran's position in the starting lineup."

Still, Moore has grabbed just four rebounds in a combined 59 minutes while Thompson's rebounds-per-48-minute rate to this point (16.2) would have ranked as the sixth-best in the league by last season's standards. Yet while Thompson has been productive offensively and on the glass, his inexperience on defense and with the pro rules have led to frequent foul trouble.

"Jason is playing really hard, (maybe) playing too hard," point guard Beno Udrih said. "There are good referees (in the NBA) who see a lot of stuff that he got away with in college. Here, he can't get away with it. Spencer, too. I think once they learn that, we should be fine. It's that and how to defend a guy in the post."

And how to ignore the magnitude of these moments. While many young players are sometimes starstruck to the point of asking the Kobe Bryant-types for autographs or a pair of his shoes, Thompson said he has a singular focus.

"Man, that was all good to know guys like that before," he said. "But now they're the enemy. I'm looking at it way differently. I want to go in there, get my feet wet, and if I can score a bucket or get a rebound or something, then I just go. I feel comfortable."

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