The day after the visiting Denver Nuggets ended the Houston Rockets` nine-game winning streak in late March, Amen Thompson spoke to his teammates at the team`s newly opened 75,000-square-foot training facility.
It was his turn for a team-bonding exercise: sharing your life story in five minutes.
“Everybody goes over the time,” Thompson remarked.
He couldn`t help it.
Combining essentially the same two stories into one narrative, as his Rockets teammates listened intently, the usually quiet Thompson recounted growing up in the Oakland, California area with an intensely competitive identical twin brother, Ausar, born just a minute later. He described a supportive family environment that played a crucial role in making real the dreams they had written down on a family vision board when they were just 9 years old.
“They`re like that if you know their background and history,” Houston coach Ime Udoka commented. “So, we got to learn a little bit more about Amen`s background than we already knew. Anytime you have a twin brother that`s in the position that they`re in, you just know they came up going at each other. Their father (Troy Thompson) pushed them hard and clearly shaped them into who they are. Their competitive spirit was always present.”
Amen and Ausar, now 22, are the first twins in league history to be selected within the top five picks in the draft (Amen was chosen 4th by the Rockets, and Ausar followed at 5th with the Detroit Pistons). In their second professional seasons, they are key emerging players for franchises showing potential and are making their playoff debuts.
Amen admitted he “wasn`t expecting it,” adding that Ausar “always believed since last year” that the twins would seriously contend for a championship trophy in 2025.
“It`s incredibly cool,” Ausar stated. “Last year, Amen was talking a lot about us. They had 41 wins. We had 14. He was like, `Flip the number around and that`s how many wins y`all got.` But I was like, it doesn`t matter. Y`all didn`t make the playoffs. We didn`t make the playoffs. Now he can`t say that. We made the playoffs the same year. All he can say is they`ve got a better record. I promise you next year it won`t be.”
Amen`s Rockets are currently down 0-1 to the Golden State Warriors and will aim to tie the series. Ausar and the Pistons, meanwhile, ended a 15-game postseason losing streak, the longest in league history, with a victory over the New York Knicks and will seek a 2-1 lead as their series moves to Detroit.
For the moment, however, Amen wants to focus on the present. He`s “not doubting [Ausar`s predictions] anymore” but envisions an even bigger picture for both the Rockets and the Pistons in the 2025 playoffs.
“I want to see him in the Finals,” Amen said. “That would be amazing. But only one of us wins. I know who that`s gonna be.”
Clearly, the brothers disagree.
“Man, we would beat them easily,” Ausar countered. “This year, when we played and had all our players available, we defeated them.”
On the night the Rockets defeated the Utah Jazz 143-105 to secure their playoff spot as the second team in the Western Conference, Amen relaxed at his locker, reminiscing about his family`s vision board.
Their mother, Maya Wilson, didn`t allow the boys to play football. So, by age 7, their father, Troy, was putting Amen and Ausar through basketball drills he had created years earlier for their older brother, Troy Jr., who played college ball and whom the twins see as “the blueprint” for their own success.
That consistent training routine sparked a dream for the twins, who share the middle name XLNC (pronounced `excellency`).
“They`re special individuals,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff noted about the Thompson family. “You can tell they instilled in them the belief that the team is more important than any individual, and that there`s more to life than just being a skilled basketball player, emphasizing the importance of caring for yourself mentally, physically, spiritually, all aspects of being.”
Pinned to a wall, written in handwriting impressive for 9-year-olds, the Thompson family vision board was titled “Amen & Ausar`s 6`9` Dreams,” inscribed in a graffiti style above a drawing of a black-and-white camouflage Nike Air Foamposite One shoe. Immediately below, their goals were listed, each marked with a star:
- Become The Greatest NBA Player of All-Time
- Become a Multi-Billionaire
- Get a shoe company deal
- Become 6 ft. 9 inch[es] tall
“Yeah, my dad always believed in writing down what you wanted to achieve,” Amen explained. “It`s like writing down affirmations, essentially. I don`t quite remember everything I wrote. But it was about putting it down so we`d have a guide and know what we needed to do to reach those goals.”
Below the goals, the twins penned a 10-step daily to-do list just above their signatures, scrawled in cursive.
“Some of the items on there were pretty intense,” Amen recalled. “We used to actually do it, though. But some of that stuff was challenging to do every single day.”
Number 1 on the list was “run 2 miles dribbling left-handed,” followed by “200 pushups, 200 sit-ups, 50 pull-ups, 500 calf raises, squat while watching TV.” The final two steps were “eat vitamins every day, healthy foods, and milk,” concluding with No. 10: “hustle as hard as possible always.”
Troy consistently encouraged the boys to compete with the same fierce determination and effort as Russell Westbrook. They followed his lead. Over time, friendly pickup games escalated into fights. It reached a point where Troy decided his twins should no longer play one-on-one against each other.
“Whoever lost would just start fighting and stuff,” Amen admitted. Ausar insists “it was always Amen who started it,” which Amen doesn`t deny.
“He would get so upset,” Ausar recounted. “We`d get home, and he`d still be mad. Our dad would be like, `Alright, we`re going on a spiritual walk.` And it would be just him and my dad, and they`d walk maybe like 4 miles. It`s amusing looking back.”
In one instance, Amen said a skirmish he initiated resulted in a 14-mile hike.
“I would be so frustrated, especially if Ausar didn`t have to go and it was just me on the hike,” Amen shared.
Did Amen`s punishments make Ausar feel guilty?
“Absolutely not,” Ausar declared. “He was attempting to injure me. I would try to go home, and he just wouldn`t let us leave [until he won]. So, it was like, `Oh, you don`t want to go home? Go take that spiritual walk up the hills.`”
Their competitiveness carried over to high school at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they transferred from California before starting eighth grade. Known for its strong academics, Pine Crest allowed Amen and Ausar to play varsity basketball as eighth graders.
By the end of their junior year, they had dominated for four years on the varsity team, leading Pine Crest to a state championship and earning Co-Player of the Year honors for their class range. The opportunity to join Atlanta-based Overtime Elite, a new professional basketball league offering athletes an alternative route to the NBA, arose during the AAU season.
They decided to forgo their senior year at Pine Crest to commit to OTE, attracted by the league`s 24/7 gym access, NBA-level coaching and trainers, and top-tier competition – not to mention the minimum $100,000 salary.
Amen noted immediate improvements in his game.
“But I still feel like when we were in the predraft process, because we were with OTE, some people thought we wouldn`t be prepared for the league because they claimed we were playing against 15- and 16-year-olds,” Amen stated. “Just inventing falsehoods for a narrative. We`ve played above our age level our whole lives. And if I`m running from competition, I can only run for so long. We`ve always aspired to be the best. You can`t be the best and avoid challenges.”
The 6-foot-7 twins, possessing nearly 7-foot wingspans, played two seasons with OTE before Houston and Detroit selected Amen and Ausar 4th and 5th respectively in the 2023 NBA draft.
“Everybody says they have dogs on their teams,” Udoka commented. “Some are pit bulls and some are poodles. We aim to acquire pit bulls. He is precisely what we want, need, and seek, in every regard. We value players with his size, athleticism, and versatility. He fits perfectly. Everything he offers, we were thrilled to draft him where we did. He was the player we connected with. He fits everything – the mold of the modern NBA player and what we`re building here.”
Bickerstaff felt similarly about the qualities he wanted in Detroit.
“You desire players who are versatile and can impact both ends of the floor. You`re looking for tough, competitive, fierce individuals willing to do whatever it takes and sacrifice,” he said. “Ausar embodies all those traits. He`s exactly the type of player you search for.”
The Thompson twins last saw each other in Miami in March, when the Heat hosted the Pistons and Rockets in consecutive games, both resulting in victories for the visiting teams. Equipped with versatile two-way skills and explosiveness, the Thompsons significantly influenced the outcomes of both contests, often serving as primary defenders on Tyler Herro.
Amen showcased a particularly striking performance. Miami had previously defeated Houston in a December game marked by six ejections, including Thompson, Herro, and Udoka late in the game. Amen had also been sidelined with a sore ankle, missing the previous six games before their March rematch.
Primarily guarding Herro, Amen tallied seven steals and a block as Houston converted 21 Heat turnovers into 24 points. Herro fared better two nights earlier against the Pistons, but both of Ausar`s steals in that game came while defending him.
Former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone described film clips of the Thompson brothers this season as “incredible.”
“You`re truly seeing both of those guys grow into their own this year, making their mark,” Malone observed. “Their athleticism, their capability to defend players from guard to center, their strength, their speed – it`s all impressive.”
Amen might be slightly ahead in his development compared to Ausar, partly because the latter missed the final 19 games of his rookie season and the initial 18 games of the 2024-25 campaign due to a blood clot issue. Ausar didn`t make his season debut until late November.
“You can literally look at the statistics directly,” Bickerstaff commented. “When he returned and was playing significant minutes, our game pace increased because he would grab rebounds, run the floor, push the ball, and attack. He`s a skilled passer and an excellent offensive rebounder. Defensively, he`s simply disruptive, covering ground everywhere. He`s developed so much. But I believe a large part of that is simply being healthy enough to play and getting those game reps.”
Udoka observes similar progress in Amen, who initially joined the Rockets primarily as a point guard. When Alperen Sengun was injured last season, Amen stepped in at power forward, refining his abilities as a screener and roller. Amen also spent considerable time operating in the dunker spot and transitioned to point guard for extended periods this season when Fred VanVleet was out due to injury.
“So, he absorbed all those experiences and added them to his skill set,” Udoka noted. “He has played almost every position, and I think those experiences with different roles he hadn`t performed before are what have truly accelerated his growth. He was originally a point guard with primarily one mode of play: push transition, make passes, drive to the basket. Now, the fact that he can roll effectively and operate in the dunker spot and perform all those varied tasks has expanded his game significantly.”
From late December through the end of the regular season, Amen and Ausar are the only two players in the NBA to record at least 100 offensive rebounds and a combined total of 125 steals and blocks. While Amen has a slight edge in per-game production, their numbers are quite similar when viewed on a per-36-minutes basis.
According to GeniusIQ, an AI-driven sports analytics platform, Amen and Ausar rank among the top five players in average jump height when attempting layups or dunks this season. Defensively, Ausar ranks fifth in opponent field goal percentage allowed (38.8%) as the primary defender among players who have contested over 400 shots, according to GeniusIQ. Amen ranks sixth but would be first in the league if the minimum contested shots threshold was raised to 700.
Ausar concluded the regular season ranked No. 3 in defensive estimated plus-minus, trailing only Alex Caruso and Kris Dunn, while Amen ranked fifth behind Victor Wembanyama.
“I want to be even more assertive when guarding on-ball, attack more on offense, and explore different facets of my game while attacking,” Ausar stated. “The primary focus is just leveraging what I`m already skilled at, which includes driving to the basket, finishing, or operating in the mid-range area.”
Amen is also one of only two players this season, along with Jaren Jackson Jr., to accumulate at least 80 steals and 80 blocks. He is the first Rocket to achieve this feat since Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1998-99 season.
Despite the considerable talent and basketball intelligence they have displayed in their first two NBA seasons, the Thompson twins recognize the need to improve their shooting to truly excel in the league. Until then, they will continue to capitalize on the physical attributes that helped them reach the NBA, emphasizing ways to impact games in any capacity.
“It`s refreshing to see a young player lean into their strengths,” Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy observed. “The draft process can be strange for young players because they are dissected and told all the things they aren`t good at. And sometimes their focus shifts to trying to prove everyone wrong. A significant part of establishing an identity as a young NBA player is, first, being honest with yourself, and second, relying on the skills you currently possess to contribute to winning while simultaneously working on improving other areas of your game.”
Before their first-round playoff games, the twins exchange a regular text message: “Go kill.”
“Honestly, I just want to see him perform well,” Ausar said. “I used to get anxious watching his games. But not anymore. He`s playing around 40 minutes a night now. So, I`m just watching it as entertainment. I fully expect him to be amazing.”
If only one brother is playing, the other will be watching, knowing exactly what they are experiencing on the court. This isn`t a matter of twin telepathy, but rather deep familiarity.
“If I`m watching, I can tell how he`s feeling just by his facial expressions,” Amen remarked. “It`s not some sixth sense or anything. He would say the same about me. Like, he`ll send me a TikTok video or we`ll send each other the exact same TikTok at the same moment. So, there are things like that. But a sixth sense? No, you`ve simply spent your entire life around the person, you know? Our life story is essentially identical.”