Global Courant
Although the predictable selection of Frenchman Victor Wembanyama by the San Antonio Spurs was the main news of the NBA Draft, it was not the only highlight of the ceremony that took place on Thursday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. One of them was the choice of the twins Amen and Ausar Thompson: the first will play for the Houston Rockets and the second for the Detroit Pistons.
The landing of the Thompsons carries a couple of peculiarities. Neither of them went through college, instead entering the Mecca of basketball through the Overtime Elite league. And never had a pair of twins been chosen at the same Draft ceremony in the first five picks: Amen was fourth and Ausar was fifth.
“Ausar and I were going to be happy no matter who was chosen first. It means a lot to my family to see that all the hard work is paying off,” Amen said in statements made to ESPN shortly after learning of his fate. “Being the first twins in the same Draft to go in the top five means a lot to us,” added his brother.
Ausar Thompson (left) will play for the Detroit Pistons and his brother Amen (right) will play for the Houston Rockets. Photo: John Minchillo / AP.
A little less than 1,800 kilometers will separate the twins, who until now had traveled their paths in sport together and who will have to resolve some elementary aspects such as the division of shared assets. “He will keep the PlayStation 5 and I will have to buy one. We also fight over the shoes. I’m losing everything, it’s like a bad divorce,” Amen joked.
For the Thompson family, this is not the first experience in high performance basketball. Troy Jr, the eldest son of Troy Thompson and Maya Wilson, played at the college level at City College of San Francisco and Prairie View A&M University, participated in a Summer League in Europe with the Miami Heat in 2019 and also tried out with the Stockton Kings , the G-League franchise associated with the Sacramento Kings, but missed the cut. His siblings are only a few months away from fulfilling that dream that eluded him.
The twins were born on January 30, 2003 in San Leandro, a city located on the San Francisco Bay border of Oakland. That day, Amen came into the world a minute before her brother, with whom she shares a middle name: XLNC, pronounced “Excellence.” From a very young age and inspired by Troy Jr’s skills, they began practicing with the orange ball on their elementary school court.
The Thompson twins shined in high school playing for the Pine Crest School team. Photo: Pine Crest School.
“They always wanted to play one on one, but that ended in fights and arguments. I told them: ‘Okay, you can play, but first you have to do these exercises.’ Then he would pull me away, as if he was about to leave, but I would look at them. And they did the exercises every day before one on one, ”his father said in an interview on ESPN.
When they were 13 years old, in eighth grade and already dazzling, the family crossed the country and settled in Fort Lauderdale so the boys could play at Pine Crest School, a school known for its strong basketball team. Before making the decision, Mom Maya had to be convinced, who did not agree with the move.
“Amen noticed my stress and told me: ‘Mom, I’m going to stay with you if it makes you feel better.’ That was my turning point. There was no way he could separate these guys from their dream because of how I felt. When he was willing to walk away from his brother, I said, ‘No thanks,'” Maya recalled.
With Pine Crest School they won the Florida State Championship and soon began to receive proposals to make the leap to university sports. However, they opted for another path that would allow them to dedicate themselves fully to basketball: they signed a contract with Overtime Elite to participate in the inaugural season of that league born in Atlanta.
Overtime Elite, in whose Board of Directors Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol participate, was born as an alternative path to reach the NBA: Its structure is oriented to develop young talents, for which it recruits players between 16 and 20 years old, pays them a minimum salary of $100,000 per year and offers them a complementary educational program. Last year, Dominick Barlow became the first player with a past in this league to enter the NBA: he was signed by the San Antonio Spurs.
In Overtime Elite, the Thompson twins added experience, friction and 10 kilos of muscle. In the first season they played in different teams: Amen in Team OTE and Ausar in Team Elite. In the second they combined forces and talent to lead the City Reapers to the championship. In the playoffs, Amen averaged 17.2 points, 9.2 assists, and 7.2 rebounds; his brother, 21 points, 4.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds. Ausar was chosen MVP of the season.
Last season, the Thompson twins were Overtime Elite League Champions. Photo: Adam Hagy/Overtime Elite via AP.
Now it will be their turn to prove themselves in the elite. Both measure 1.90 meters and are praised for their speed and athleticism, but specialists mark some differences between the two. Ausar, who has the biggest hands, stands out more on defense, is the better 3-point shooter and is projected as a small forward in Detroit. Amen is more effective on short-range shots, is a more cerebral passer and is expected to play more of a point guard in Houston.
While it was shocking that they were selected among the top five players in this Draft, the Thompsons won’t be the first twins to arrive simultaneously in the NBA. The first were Dick and Tom Van Arsdale, chosen in 1965 by the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, respectively. They were followed by other peers such as Jason and Jarron Collins (2001), Brook and Robin López (2008), and Marcus and Markieff Morris (2011).
Another famous set of twins, Horace and Harvey Grant, arrived a year apart: the former joined the Chicago Bulls in 1987 and the latter joined the Washington Bullets in 1988. A similar case will occur with the Murrays: Keegan has been playing since the last year with the Sacramento Kings, while Kris was drafted Thursday by the Portland Trail Blazers.
