The Detroit Pistons are fortunate to have one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders on their roster
During the offseason, Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson recommitted himself on the defensive end, which is an atypical approach for a dynamic wing that already ranked as one of the NBA’s most athletic defenders. But to Thompson’s credit, the third-year slasher felt that he could reach another level of defensive pressure, and he bet on himself.
On Friday night, the Pistons cashed in on a few of the winnings from Thompson’s lockdown defense in the form of a 12-point, 4-for-20 performance from New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson in what was a dominant 38-point victory for Detroit.
Starting in the first quarter, Thompson set out to pester Brunson all night long and did his best to harass the All-Star guard at the point of attack. Since Brunson was playing without Karl-Anthony Towns, the Villanova product was expected to carry the Knicks from an offensive perspective, but Thompson disrupted the playmakers ability to, well, make plays with any consistent success.
While Brunson was stifled from a scoring perspective with a 12-point output, he couldn’t get going as a playmaker either with just four assists before he was pulled from the game in the fourth quarter. Brunson’s 12-point performance tied for his second-lowest production of the season, and Thompson left his imprint on every missed shot from Brunson’s lowlight tape last night.
In terms of stocks (steals plus blocks), few players in the league can compete with Ausar on the perimeter. The Pistons’ 6-7 lockdown defender ranks fourth in the NBA for steals (1.9) and deflections (4.3) per game, but he’s more than just a passing lane-clogging, turnover-causing demon. Thompson is uniquely qualified to use his speed, toughness and agility to fight through screens on the perimeter, and he’s grown into one of the most stingy defenders in the NBA as of late.
When breaking down Thompson’s defensive impact on screen actions, Detroit’s premier defensive ace is responsible for just 0.68 points per pick and roll possession thanks to his ability to switch onto any player or fight through or around any screen that he’s faced with while engaged at the point of attack.
Recently, Thompson has caused havoc for opposing ball handlers with at least five stocks in three of the Pistons' four games in the month of February. Going back a little bit further, Thompson posted a six-steal performance on Friday, Jan. 30 against the Golden State Warriors. Two games before that, Ausar logged five steals and a block against the Denver Nuggets. Suffice to say, Thompson has relished the opportunity to act as both a pickpocket and a spring-loaded rejection service for Detroit this season.
While Thompson’s defensive success should not come as a shock to those tuned into the NBA landscape– his defensive superlatives are exhaustive. But the most impressive aspect of his performance throughout the 2025-26 season is that Ausar’s been able to be this effective in just 25.9 minutes a night. During tight games, Thompson often watches the final few possessions from the bench as a result of his offensive limitations, so Ausar acts as a weapon to help restrain the opposing offense all game long before the Pistons are able to put the finishing touches on the game when late-game scoring becomes the focus.
As Thompson continues to develop his skill set, the Pistons will likely slide Ausar into their closing rotations on a more consistent basis. But in the meantime, the third-year wing is compiling hours worth of impressive game tape on defense, and he should be on the short list for Defensive Player of the Year when it’s time to hand out some hardware several months from now.
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