The Thompson twins are not only making their hoop dreams come true, but making NBA Draft History as they accomplish it.
Amen and Ausar Thompson, 6’7 brothers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida were the No. 4 and No. 5 draft picks for the 2023 NBA Draft, respectively.
Amen, a point guard, was picked up by the Houston Rockets, while his brother will be starting his NBA career as a power forward with the Detroit Pistons.
The Athletic confirmed that while the two are not the first set of twins to be drafted together, they are the highest ranking and within the top ten, beating Marcus and Markieff Morris as they were the No. 13 and No.14 picks in the 2011 draft.
Proud mom of the Thompson Twins! ♥️ #NBADraft presented by State Farm NEXT on ABC & ESPN pic.twitter.com/CVnwv14bzu
— NBA (@NBA) June 22, 2023
The twins are highly-anticipated to be major game-changers in their upcoming roles with the franchises.
Their path to professional basketball is a relatively recent one, as the brothers chose to forego the collegiate route usually taken by aspiring NBA players, which is attending a top Division 1 school and playing for their programs.
This 2 min recap of the Thompson Twins’ journey to the NBA is EVERYTHING pic.twitter.com/jOygFmOWGS
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) June 24, 2023
Instead, they chose to skip school and play for the newly established Overtime Elite, a professional league based in Atlanta for 16 to 20-year -olds with the hopes of performing well enough to advance to the NBA.
The Thompsons exceeded expectations during their two-year contract with Overtime Elite, banned together in their final season with the City Reapers team to win the championship. While the brothers were forces to be reckoned with, Ausar was named regular season MVP and Finals MVP for both his seasons at the league. To add to his accolades, he also earned each MVP award offered at Overtime Elite during his reign.
The Thompson twins have never been separated prior to their NBA induction, but will now have to face off against each other on behalf of their different cities in a battle for the national title in the ’23-’24 season.