Getty Image / Arturo Holmes
Many of us dreamt of going pro in our favorite sport as a kid, especially with one of our best friends. But, twins Amen and Ausar Thompson got to experience that actual scenario when they went in the NBA Draft to the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons with the 4th and 5th picks of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
Somehow, it’s not even the first time in history that twins have been back-to-back picks in NBA Draft history, as Markieff and Markieff and Marcus Morris went back-to-back in the 2011 NBA Draft with the 13th and 14th overall picks. But, these two obviously went much higher.
If you’re a college basketball fan and just a casual observer of NBA Draft scouting, you may be asking who the Thompson twins are. The two of them did not play college basketball, instead playing in the Overtime Elite league for players aged 16-20 based out of Atlanta. But, they’re great prospects. The two of them have nearly identical 6’7 220lb frames. Amen is known as the better athlete, and will instantly be one of the NBA’s best athletes at just 20 years old. Ausar may have the better natural shooting stroke, though neither would be considered to be good shooters at this point.
Still, it’s pretty cool that twins got to go back-to-back in the NBA Draft.
two brothers getting picked back-to-back in the top 5 of the NBA draft is unreal, s/o to the thompson twins
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) June 23, 2023
The Thompson Twins going back to back in the draft is amazing. Their parents must feel on top of the world right now
— First Responder Drew (@haaaaandrew) June 23, 2023
It is incredible that both the Morris twins and the Thompson twins went back-to-back in their respective drafts. That it happened to a pair of twins one time is insane. TWICE? Pure absurdity.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) June 23, 2023
It could be awhile before we see this again.