The twins make history, as point guard Amen Thompson is taken by the Houston Rockets at pick four, while small forward Ausar Thompson lands with the Detroit Pistons at pick five. In the same year, that is the first in NBA Draft history as consecutive selections since the 1976 ABA-NBA merger.
The only two brothers that both went top three in their respective year’s drafts are the Ball brothers, Lonzo Ball going number two overall in 2017 from UCLA to the Los Angeles Lakers and LaMelo Ball, going number three overall to the Charlotte Hornets in 2020.
There were another pair of brothers that were taken in the first round of the NBA Draft, as the Portland Trail Blazers took Iowa’s Kris Murray 23rd overall. His brother, Keegan Murray, was the fourth overall selection from Iowa in last year’s draft, going to the Kings. Sacramento was one pick away from having a chance to select Keegan’s brother.
This statistic is wild about the Thompson brothers, according to NBA Draft Analyst Jonathan Givony.
The twins have a lot to live up to the status of previous examples of brothers in the NBA. This can go back to 1972 and 1976, starting with Russ Lee and Ron Lee, as both were top ten picks of their respective drafts. In the 1975 NBA draft, Gene Short was the ninth overall pick, while Purvis Short was the fifth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft. Both Bernard King (seventh overall) and Albert King (tenth overall) were the top ten selections of the 1977 and 1981 NBA drafts, respectively. But the most common examples from the first round of the NBA Draft are the twin brothers, the Lopezes, and the Morrises.
Brook Lopez, and his twin brother Robin Lopez, both declared for the 2008 NBA Draft and played two seasons at Stanford. Brook went tenth overall to the New Jersey Nets, while Robin went to the Phoenix Suns with the 15th pick of that draft. In 2020, after 11 years of not playing on the same team, the twin duo joined forces in Milwaukee for the Bucks.
Both entering the 2011 NBA Draft, Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris became back-to-back picks, as Markieff was selected by the Suns with the 13th pick, then Markus with the Rockets at pick 14. For Kansas, the twin brothers both played four years and are still in the NBA. Even though both of them played for multiple teams, they had a stint together in Phoenix that lasted three seasons, from 2012 to 2015.
Both the Thompson brothers will have lofty expectations of them for their respective teams, as both played for Overtime Elite and would be the highest players drafted from that program. When asked about this historic feat, the twins had this to say to reporters.
“I think it’s kind of cool going first. It means a lot to my family,” Amen said. “Me and Ausar, we were going to be happy whoever went first. But it means a lot to my family to see all the hard work pay off. Our go back to back, be the first twins in the same draft to go top five, it means a lot.”
For the City Reapers in the OTE league, both of the brothers acquired titles and join teams that need playmakers, as the Rockets went 22-60 and the Pistons went 17-65 this past year. Now in the NBA, both of them look to turn things around for their respective teams.
“Just being in the NBA, you know, playing with these athletic guys, I feel like my best brand of basketball is running and we’re a young team so that’s what we’re going to do,” Amen said.
“Super excited. I’m super excited to meet my coaches, meet my teammates and just grow with them,” Ausar said. “I’m trying to contend.”
Their mother, Maya Wilson, agreed that it was special seeing them get drafted with consecutive selections.
“There are no words really to express how I’m feeling,” she told reporters following the picks. “To see them back-to-back, that blows my mind. The world is just opening up to them. There’s no limit. So, I’m just very excited about what’s in store so just very, very happy.”
Their father, Troy Thompson, had this to say about their goals as rookies.
“The vision now is to become leaders on their team,” Troy said, “Obviously, being at least first-team All-Rookie and maybe competing for Rookie of the Year. We’ve got big ambitions.”
