Tonight in Houston, the Rockets will face the Detroit Pistons- and Amen and Ausar Thompson will face their twin. Both teams are currently 0-1.

The two brothers played each other last season with the Rockets and Amen taking both victories. In their first time facing each other last December, both rookies met in Houston where the Rockets won 136-113. 

In their second game in Detroit the game ended at 112-101. For much of the duration of the time spent on the court in this game, the two went head-to-head guarding each other.

In the 2023 NBA draft, Amen was selected fourth overall pick by the Rockets and Ausur was drafted to the Pistons as the fifth overall pick. Both spent their rookie years on young developing teams, and have shown significant growth compared to last season. 

For the 2024-25 season, Amen got about ten minutes more play time than his brother with an average of 32.2 minutes and 22.5 minutes on the court, respectively. Comparing their stats at face value isn’t really a direct 1:1 comparison. 

2024-25 Season Averages:

Amen Thompson

14.1 points 

8.2 rebounds

3.8 assists

Ausar Thompson

10.1 points 

5.1 rebounds

2.3 assists

Since last season, Amen locked in his defense and was one of the youngest players to be selected in the NBA First Team All-Defense. This year, with Fred VanVleet injured and out for the season, he’s expected to take on more responsibility this season and likely get more play time. In the Rockets’ season opener this year against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Amen contributed 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.  

Ausar also improved, but not as dramatically. Opening Night this week Ausar dropped 11 points on the Chicago Bulls and recorded nine rebounds and 7 assists. 

The Rockets are favored to win, but the Pistons have been improving dramatically over the last year and only lost by four to the Chicago Bulls last game.

The Rockets will use their size to their advantage, while the underdog Pistons will utilize their newfound discipline in order to contend. Whether the Rockets win by five or ten points seems to be the question as of now, but the Pistons may just surprise. Either way, it will be an interesting game, and the headline will be about the twins' “rivalry”.