Best Fit With Huge Potential as NBA Guards In Next NBA Draft – Twin Amen & Ausar Thompson
Best Fit With Huge Potential as NBA Guards In Next NBA Draft – Twin Amen & Ausar Thompson – Read more to know more …
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Much has been made about the top three prospects in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft: To be sure, Victor Wembanyama is the first overall pick, but G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson and Alabama wing Brandon Miller aren’t far behind.
Amen and Ausar Thompson, twins from Overtime Elite, are quietly lurking behind those three top prospects. The 6-foot-7 combo took a chance on OTE in 2021, when the league was just starting off, and elected to go their own way to the NBA.
Since then, NBA scouts and executives have made regular trips to Atlanta’s OTE Arena to see the twins practice.
In contrast to his twin brother Ausar, who is more of a combo guard, Amen has spent his whole career as a point guard. Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had one of the most electrifying backcourts in high school basketball, and both players brought that intensity to OTE.
Amen scored 43 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the state championship game, which Pine Crest won in double overtime, and the two of them were voted Broward County Co-Players of the Year that season.
According to Ausar, who has watched Amen play in a lot of games, “that was probably one of the best games I’ve ever seen him play.”
When I fouled out, he seemed like he was going to take control of the game, and he did. It was totally out of control.
Amen and Ausar worked together for the final time at OTE this past season. In Game 3, Ausar blasted the game-winning home run, earning himself MVP honors and leading the duo to an OTE title.
I’m pleased we got to play together one more time before I head off to the big leagues,” Amen added. As one player put it, “He makes me a better player whether that’s just in practice or even in games with the cuts he makes, it makes me a better passer.”
Wembanyama, Henderson, and Miller are considered first tier, while projections have Amen and Ausar near the top of the lottery.
They just tried out for the No. 3 overall pick Portland Trail Blazers, where Ausar showed off his enhanced jump shot. Because of his playmaking skills and his projected role as a key ball-handler in the NBA, Amen has been considered the better prospect throughout the pre-draft process, although Ausar’s name could be called before Amen’s on June 22.
“Ausar is a player you can plug alongside other playmakers on the wing and he can still be impactful,” one NBA scout told Yahoo Sports of Ausar. His defensive contributions and potential as a role player on the wing make him a worthwhile addition.
Ausar would be a better match alongside Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey if Detroit holds its No. 5 choice and Villanova guard Cam Whitmore is off the board.
The Washington Wizards (to pair with Bradley Beal in the backcourt) might also benefit from selecting Ausar eighth overall, and the Utah Jazz, who are in the midst of a rebuild, could snag him ninth.
Amen has a chance to be selected as high as No. 3 overall, where he could play alongside a seasoned veteran like Damian Lillard, or as low as No. 4, where he could play alongside James Harden, who is reportedly interested in returning to the Rockets.
If both players are selected in the top 10, they will become the highest-drafted set of siblings in NBA Draft history.
While everyone is talking about Wembanyama and his potential, the Thompson twins are patiently waiting to hear where they end up and are prepared to contribute to the team’s success no matter the circumstances.
As for where Ausar is picked, he is not concerned. “Me, honestly, I’m not worried about where I’m drafted, whether that’s [pick] one, 10, or 60,” he stated.
Like what he said,” Amen continued. The point isn’t to get to draft night. I’m all set to compete and prove my abilities to the world.
