Amen Thompson is only one minute older than his brother. The order was the same at the 2023 NBA Draft: Houston selected Amen with the fourth pick, and Detroit took Ausar immediately afterward at No. 5. This summer, it happened again. The Rockets signed Amen to a five-year, $208 million extension in early September, and two weeks later the Pistons gave Ausar another $155 million over five years.
That is $363 million combined for twins who entered the NBA together only three years ago. The Thompsons became the first brothers in league history to each receive contracts worth at least $100 million. They had already made history at the draft as the first twins selected in the top 10 in the same year, and Houston and Detroit have now made it clear, almost simultaneously, that they view them as long-term pieces of their respective projects.
Their path to this point was hardly conventional. As highly ranked high school prospects, they passed on the traditional NCAA route and joined Overtime Elite before their final year of high school, when the program was still new and had yet to prove itself as a legitimate path to the NBA. Two years later, they went back-to-back in the draft. Now both franchises have committed nine-figure deals to what comes next.
Amen Has Developed Into One of Houston’s Most Important Players
The similarities in their careers do not mean they earned those contracts in the same way. Over three years in Houston, Amen has developed from an exceptional athletic prospect into one of the Rockets’ most important players. He finished last season averaging 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals while starting all 79 games he played. He and Luka Dončić were the only players in the league to average at least 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and 1.5 steals, while Thompson’s 2,953 minutes were the most in the NBA during the regular season.
Houston did not give him the maximum extension. Thompson could have received around $252 million over five years, but agreed to roughly $44 million less, allowing the Rockets to preserve some financial flexibility. The contract has no team or player option, runs through the summer of 2032 and includes a 10 percent trade kicker.
“Amen represents everything we want our organization to be,” general manager Rafael Stone said when the extension was announced, pointing to his two-way ability, toughness, work habits and competitive nature.
Ausar’s Contract Is Built on Elite Defense
Ausar’s value is easier to explain through his defense than through traditional box-score production. Last season he averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists, numbers that by themselves do not explain why Detroit had little hesitation in guaranteeing the full $155 million.
He led the NBA with two steals per game, finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned First Team All-Defense honors. He totaled 215 steals and blocks, the third-highest combined mark in the league, while only two other players have reached at least 300 steals and 150 blocks since he entered the NBA.
Not much changed in the playoffs. Ausar collected 28 steals and 25 blocks in 14 games, becoming the first player since Anthony Davis in 2020 to record at least 25 of each in a single postseason. Detroit finished the regular season with the NBA’s second-best defensive rating, and Thompson was one of the main reasons for that improvement.
Detroit’s Commitment Means More After Everything Ausar Went Through
That carries even more weight when his rookie season is considered. Ausar’s first NBA season ended in March 2024 because of a blood clot, and the following fall he had to complete the joint medical clearance process between the NBA and the players’ union before being allowed to return. Two years later, Detroit gave him five fully guaranteed seasons.
The Pistons made that decision while Jalen Duren’s future was still unresolved, which says plenty about Ausar’s place in their hierarchy. Detroit already has Cade Cunningham as the central figure of its offense, while Thompson provides exactly the kind of support that fits alongside him. He can take the toughest opposing guards and wings, cover ground defensively, create transition opportunities with his defense and affect games without needing a high volume of shots.
$363 Million Confirms How Important They Have Become
That is where the careers of the Thompson twins have begun to diverge most clearly. Amen received the larger contract because Houston sees the potential for him to take on more responsibility with the ball while maintaining elite defensive impact. Ausar reached $155 million as a player whose offensive game still has room to develop, but who has already established himself as one of the league’s best defenders. Both still have weaknesses opponents can exploit, particularly when defenses give them space away from the basket, but the Rockets and Pistons decided that what they already do at an elite level is worth a long-term investment.
Houston and Detroit have committed a combined $363 million through their new contracts. Amen will be expected to justify his share as an increasingly complete player around whom the Rockets are building their future, while Ausar has already reached the league’s defensive elite in only three seasons. Their shared path through Overtime Elite has led them into different roles, but both have become too important to their teams not to be paid accordingly.