Detroit Pistons Have Finally Decided To Close Games With Ausar Thompson

As a top five pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Ausar Thompson has long held lofty expectations for himself as a member of the Detroit Pistons, and he’s been taking some important steps lately to realize his rare potential. 

At 6-7, Thompson has already carved out his role as one of the most tenacious on-ball defenders in the association with his All-Defensive First Team selection last year, but AT has much more to offer than just perimeter defense— and the Pistons know that. 

During training camp and the pre-season, Detroit used Thompson as more of an on-ball playmaker and encouraged him to take the reins when running in transition, which is a concept the Pistons have used on and off over the past several seasons. But due to blood clot issues early in his career and other minor injuries along the way, Detroit has had to abandon that offensive wrinkle, instead leaning on Cade Cunningham’s playmaking skills to run the show in Motown. 

For instance, the Pistons began the 2025-26 campaign by putting some more floor general-type duties on Thompson’s plate, but the dynamic wing suffered an ankle injury that halted those plans. Once Thompson came back, Cunningham had already worked himself into a rhythm as the team’s main source of offense, so the Pistons tucked that idea back into their pocket until recently. 

During Detroit’s 5-1 run to start the regular season, Detroit has revamped that concept once again, and Thompson has shown flashes of being more aggressive on offense. Part of that means taking open mid-range and perimeter jumpers when they’re presented, which is still a work in progress for AT, but he’s shown a willingness to be more demonstrative for Detroit in high-leverage situations. 

In fact, Thompson’s confidence was on full display when Detroit hosted the Boston Celtics for the regular season opener, which went down to the wire. In the fourth quarter, the Pistons were fending off a late Boston comeback, but Thompson floated into the lane with less than a minute remaining and hit a clutch mid-range jumper to give Detroit a six-point lead just before the shot clock expired. That moment was one that Thompson wouldn’t have found himself in earlier in his career, but he essentially sealed the Pistons’ victory with that key bucket against a quality opponent. 

While some could assert that Thompson merely hit a jump shot, his role in that play underscored J.B. Bickerstaff’s growing confidence in AT’s ability to close games for Detroit. Up until this point, Bickerstaff has either prioritized offense-for-defense substitution patterns with Thompson during the latter stages of close games, but on some occasions he would completely look in a different direction, leaving Thompson on the bench for pivotal finishes. However, recent results would suggest that Bickerstaff is changing his tune regarding Thompson’s late-game value, and that would be a position reinforced by AT’s +44 net rating in the fourth quarter, which ranks second in the NBA. 

After the Pistons pulled off an NBA Cup victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, Duncan Robinson took some time to detail just how dynamic Thompson is for the Pistons. Now that Thompson is becoming more assertive on offense, his value should continue to ascend during late-game situations considering how impactful he is on the defensive side of the ball.