Detroit Pistons: Only A Jumper Separates Ausar Thompson From Superstardom

After three years in the pros, Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson has developed into one of the most dynamic yet puzzling players in the NBA. 

As a highly-touted top 10 prospect coming out of the draft, Thompson was billed as one of the most athletic players in his class from the very beginning, but that might have been a conservative estimation of his ability. At 6-7, Thompson had the length to match up one through four with the burst and speed of a backcourt weapon with the strength and instincts of a defensive stopper at the point of attack. 

Early on, it did not take long for Thompson’s lockdown defensive talent to become painfully obvious, but an untimely blood clot situation shortened AT’s second season with the Pistons. Still, the Overtime Elite product showed a world of promise as an imposing perimeter defender who could not just guard but shut down virtually any ball handler in the league before entering his third year in the Motor City. 

Last year, Thompson put it all together as a defender by regularly taking on the opposing team’s top scoring threat and neutralizing their impact all game long. Unlike many modern-day stars, Thompson relished the opportunity to clamp down on flashy scorers and worked his way to an All-Defensive First Team finish for his work in the 2025-26 campaign and a podium finish for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. In all, Thompson was named as the Eastern Conference’s top defender for two separate months during the regular season, but the struggle for the Pistons has become balancing his defensive playmaking with a much more reserved impact with the ball in his hands on the other end. 

Averaging 9.9 points per game last season, Thompson served primarily as a connector within the Pistons offense since he struggled as a shooter who connected on just 25% of his triple attempts. Detroit made an attempt to involve Thompson as a playmaker and initiator early in the campaign, but the Pistons shifted those duties more towards Daniss Jenkins once he emerged as a mid-season option. Still, Thompson showed the panache to sprinkle in flashy dimes as a creator but dealt with a few turnover issues when trying to force a play littered with flair that just wasn’t available. 

As a whole package, Thompson offers everything that an NBA team could want from their chief defender and then some, but his offensive game lags behind in a way that forces Detroit to act carefully with his minutes distribution. If Thompson is able to improve his efficiency from three-point range and become a viable scoring threat from the perimeter, the Pistons could have a two-way star on their hands given his already-established defensive prowess. The only element missing right now from Thompson’s bag of tricks is a reliable jumper, so that’s where the bulk of his offseason training should reside. The development of a mid-range or outside shot would go a long way in making Thompson dangerous on both ends of the floor outside of the occasional transition finish or back-side cut along the baseline. 

Ausar’s brother, Amen, has taken the types of offensive strides down in Houston that many would like to see in the Motor City as well. Now, the Rockets have put the ball more in Amen’s hands by design as their de facto point guard last season with their towering lineups, but Amen became a more productive scorer and playmaker in line with that offensive responsibility shift. The Pistons, on the other hand, have leaned into using Ausar as a defensive juggernaut who can force turnovers on his own to kickstart the transition game, so the two brothers simply have vastly different roles on their respective squads. But despite that fact, Ausar could continue to ascend into the game’s elite if he can establish a consistent outside shot sooner rather than later.