Amen and Ausar Thompson made history during the 2023 NBA Draft, becoming the first set of brothers to be drafted in the top five of the same draft, and they did it in style.
Amen was the No. 4 pick, going to the Houston Rockets, and Ausar followed him right up, going at No. 5 to the Detroit Pistons.
They shared with me in an exclusive interview how much that meant to them and their family.
“It was super special,” Ausar said. “Especially for our family. Growing up, every parent, sibling – all that – they sacrificed stuff for you. Whether that’s like opportunities or time, and to see the sacrifices pay off means a lot. It can be emotional. I feel like the fam was more emotional than me and Amen.”
Amen agreed with his brother’s assessment.
“The fam was definitely more emotional,” he said. “I feel like we were expecting this.”
Since a young age, the Thompson twins have had their eye on making it to the NBA. The journey began at the Boys and Girls Club, and both brothers pinpointed the same memory.
“When we first started playing basketball we were on NBA themed teams,” Amen said. “So I guess I can look back – I was on the Heat, he was on the Clippers. So, starting off with an NBA jersey and now were actually being in a real NBA jersey is really cool.”
“I was about to go back to the same thing,” Ausar added. “That was at the Boys and Girls Club league. So maybe that is where it started.”
Amen and Ausar have been with each other each step of the way, both paving a new path with their decision to join the Overtime Elite league. They became the first players to be drafted from the league and are hoping that has opened the door for others to consider it as an option before the NBA.
“I feel like the impact of us playing in that league just showed how many different outlets there were, especially for a league to only be a thing for two years,” Ausar said. “I feel like a lot of people think it’s the coaching or something that takes you to the next level, and obviously it does, but I feel like a lot of these new leagues have talented players.”
Amen believes that Overtime Elite and the G League have done a great job giving players different ways to hone their craft, explaining that not everyone has the same path to the NBA.
“Like he said, it just broadens the amount of different ways you can get to the league,” Amen said. “There’s not one set thing. There’s a lot of different things and it depends on the person you are.”
While the twins played on the same Overtime Elite team last season, they’ll actually be across the country – in Houston and Detroit – for the 2023-24 NBA season. However, they still are the perfect pair regardless if they are teammates.
This season, they’re teaming up with Campbell’s to highlight the “perfect pair” of Grilled Cheese and Campbell’s Tomato soup.
“We’re partnering with Campbell’s because we feel like just how we’re the perfect pair, we feel like Campbell’s soup, dunk a grilled cheese in that soup, I feel like that’s a perfect pair,” Ausar said. “We just felt like it kind of matched what we’ve been doing our whole lives.”
“I’ve been eating Campbell’s since I was a young kid,” Amen added. “So getting the opportunity to work with Campbell’s is a dream come true.”
Both Amen and Ausar should have key roles on their respective teams in the upcoming season. While Amen’s Rockets got the best of Ausar’s Pistons in the Summer League this offseason, they’ll face off twice during the regular season as well.
I did a little rapid fire question and answer with them about some of the things they’re looking forward to in their rookie campaigns.
Q &A with Amen and Ausar Thompson
Q: Favorite NBA player growing up
Amen: LeBron James
Ausar: LeBron James
Q: Player you’re most looking forward to facing this season?
Amen: LeBron James and Stephen Curry
Ausar: LeBron James
Q: Make your pitch for why you should win Rookie of the Year
Amen: “Just cause I feel like I’m going to be a leader on my team. Get to the rim, couple of highlight plays and I think I’m just going to be a winner and impact winning to the best of my ability.”
Ausar: “I’m going to impact winning. We’re trying to flip the worst record around last year – 17 wins – to as many wins as we can get this year.”
Q: Any personal goals/friendly competition you have for the 2023-24 season?
Ausar: “We’ve been betting on whether my team [the Pistons] is going to win by 20 or 30 the first time we play them.”
Amen: “Can you just go and look up Summer League Rockets vs. Pistons? And just look at the score of the game?”
It’s safe to say that the first matchup between the two twins is going to have a lot of line, as both want to hand the other a loss.
You can watch the full interview with Amen and Ausar Thompson on Youtube with the link above!