Ausar and Amen Thompson have spent their lives playing basketball with and against each other.
It never stops being special, but even now that the twin brothers are in the NBA, the trash talk continues.
Ausar’s East-leading Detroit Pistons (32-10) squad will host Amen’s Houston Rockets (26-16) Friday night in the second matchup of the season between the teams.
The Pistons got the better of Houston the first time around, with Ausar scoring 19 and pushing Detroit to a road win while Amen had 10 points for the night.
Following the Pistons’ win on Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, Ausar joked on the team’s postgame show that going up against his brother isn’t quite as difficult as it might appear.
“No, it’s easy (facing him),” Thompson said. “That’s my little bro. He’s older than me, but I weigh more. I’m going to introduce him to the weight room.”
Amen was born one minute before Ausar and the two have been neck-and-neck through their basketball careers.
After joining Overtime Elite together out of high school, Amen was then selected fourth overall in the 2023 NBA draft by the Rockets and Ausar fifth overall by the Pistons.
Some early career accolades have gone the way of Amen — making the 2024 All-Rookie Second Team and 2025 All-Defensive First Team — but Ausar has already developed into one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and starting for the team with the second-best record in the NBA.
And, yes, Ausar is listed as five pounds heavier than his twin.
Friday’s game marks just the fifth meeting between the two in the NBA. They are 2-2 against each other with it looking like many more meetings to come during their respective careers.
Ausar won’t make too much of the matchup, even if it’s against his brother. He’s focused on extending the four-game winning streak Detroit is on and beating a potential Western Conference contender.
“It’s a blessing that we’re both in the opportunity to play each other in the NBA. It’s something we dreamed about our whole lives,” Thompson said. “But I look at the game the same as I look at every game. It’s a game to get better, it’s a game to build my habits. Even though I’m playing my brother, I’m thinking about me and the team.”