Thompson Twins Make History With Top Five Selections In NBA Draft

NBA Draft night can be an emotionally charged evening for the draft picks and their families. For one family, they got to celebrate twice with their twins back-to-back draft picks.

Ausar and Amen Thompson, often referred to as the Thompson twins, were the No. 4 and 5 selections in the 2023 NBA Draft, not only making their family proud, but also making NBA history.

Their whole lives, Ausar and Amen have done everything together. On Thursday night, they officially joined the NBA together, making history both being in the top five of selections.

As per ESPN Stats & Info, "Amen & Ausar Thompson are the 1st pair of brothers drafted together in the Top 5 since the NBA and ABA merged in 1976."

The Houston Rockets chose Amen as the No. 4 pick, and the Detroit Pistons chose Ausar as the No. 5 pick. But for the first time ever, they'll have to separate and go on their amazing journeys without the other by his side.

Before the draft began, the twins discussed what it's going to be like going to different cities and being separated for the first time in their lives. They discussed the need to divide up their belongings since this is the first time they'll be living apart.

"He got to keep the PS5, I got to buy me one," Amen said. "We've been fighting over shoes too."

Amen said he's also losing the Jordan Travis Scott shoes in the deal, too.

"I'm losing everything," he continued. "It's like a bad divorce."

The Thompson twins have been playing basketball together since their early days.

Both are currently 6-foot-6. Ausar is a wing player and Amen is a point guard. They both received many college scholarship offers, but ended up skipping their senior year in high school to sign a contract with the Overtime Elite program based out of Atlanta.

The OTE is a professional basketball league with players between the ages of 16 and 20. They played on different teams in the OTE during their first season, but reunited the following season on the City Reapers, helping their team with the league title.

The twins decision to bypass college for the NBA will pay off big for the Thompson family. Amen is scheduled to make up to $40 million over four years and Ausar $36 million.

Ausar and Amen's father, Troy Thompson, who helped the boys to navigate their basketball careers, has high expectations for his boys.

“The vision now is to become leaders on their teams, be at least first-team all-rookie and maybe compete for rookie of the year,” Troy said, according to the East Bay Times. “We’ve got big ambitions.”

The Rockets are excited to welcome Amen to the team. They shared a video on Twitter showing some of his highlights.

Amen also shared a video message for his new team saying, "Hey H-Town, so excited to get started, so excited to be there."

The Rockets aren't the only ones excited for their new player. The Pistons shared a press release on Twitter about Ausar.

Ausar also shared a video message for his new team. "What up, though Detroit? I'm happy to be here, let's get to work."