The Detroit Pistons have one of the toughest defenders in the NBA on their squad in Ausar Thompson, but there’s a near carbon-copy of the wing in the Western Conference
There’s no amount of cross-conference success that will be able to separate Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson from comparison with his twin brother, Amen Thompson, of the Houston Rockets. During the 2023 NBA Draft, the Thompson twins went fourth and fifth overall to the Rockets and Pistons defensively, but they took fairly different routes once making it to the league.
For the Motown twin, Ausar battled a tough run in with blood clot issues at the tail end of his rookie campaign that sidelined him from basketball activities for roughly eight months. Amen, on the other hand, was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team for his debut campaign.
After that, Amen increased his offensive output by four points each season from year one to two and two to three, so he’s actually grown into a playmaking-intensive role as the Rockets point guard during all-big lineups. Along the way, the Houston Swiss Army knife landed on the All-Defensive First Team for his sophomore campaign, which means he’s developed as a distinct two-way threat with plus-creation ability and defensive playmaking to boot.
On the other end of the spectrum, Ausar has settled into a tenacious defensive role at the point-of-attack for the Pistons. More often than not, Ausar is responsible for on-ball defense of the opposing team’s top scoring threat, so he takes the most defensive responsibility on a nightly basis for Detroit. Last year, Ausar won the East’s Defensive Player of the Month award twice en route to an All-Defensive First Team nod himself, so league-wide respect for Ausar’s defense has finally reached Motown.
But in terms of how the Thompson twins see each other, there’s a non-stop competition taking place behind much of their activity. Earlier today, the two took some time to break down their strengths and weaknesses in a two-on-one interview just before training camp opens up for the Pistons.
From a defensive standpoint, the Rockets guard gave Ausar his flowers after his All-Defensive First Team appearance last season, though Amen took credit as the better dunker of the duo. When it came time to discuss their all-time record in one-on-one contests, both players admitted that Ausar takes the historical edge in their battles.
“All-time, I’ve got to give it to him,” Amen Thompson said. “All-time he’s won more.”
Amen piped up to mention that he’s logged more game-winners in his career than Ausar, and it’s clear that the two brothers are keeping track of who has the upper hand at any given moment.
During the offseason, both players inked long-term rookie scale extensions with their teams for major money, totaling over $350 million between the two of them. Amen agreed to a five-year, $208 million deal with the Rockets a couple weeks back, then Ausar put the finishing touches on his five-year, $155 million agreement with the Pistons just last week.
Look for the two Thompson twins to square off when the Rockets host the Pistons on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 8:30 pm for their first meeting of the 2026-27 season. Later on, Houston travels to Detroit for a late-season battle at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, March 25 at 7 pm.
