On Thursday evening, Amen and Ausar Thompson made history during the 2023 NBA Draft. The twin brothers were announced as back-to-back draft picks by Commissioner Adam Silver at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The Houston Rockets selected Amen as the fourth overall choice. The fifth overall pick, Ausar, will be a player for the Detroit Pistons. According to ESPN, they are the first siblings to be selected in the top five of the same draft since the NBA became a merged league in 1976.
“I think it’s kind of cool going first. It means a lot to my family,” Amen said, according to the news outlet. “Me and Ausar, we were going to be happy whoever went first. But it means a lot to my family to see all the hard work pay off. Us go back to back, be the first twins in the same draft to go top five, it means a lot.”
For two seasons, the San Leandro, California natives, played for Overtime Elite in Atlanta.
They both skipped their senior years in high school to focus on training, according to the NBA.
“Just being in the NBA, you know, playing with these athletic guys, I feel like my best brand of basketball is running, and we’re a young team, so that’s what we’re going to do,” Amen said about his upcoming role on the team.
Ausar shared that he is eager to begin this new phase of his career. “I’m super excited to meet my coaches, meet my teammates, and just grow with them,” he said. “I’m trying to contend.”
Their parents also shared pride in such a major moment for their sons.
“There are no words really to express how I’m feeling,” Maya Wilson, their mother, told ESPN. “To see them back-to-back, that blows my mind. The world is just opening up to them. There’s no limit. So, I’m just very excited about what’s in store, so just very, very happy.”
“The vision now is to become leaders on their team,” said the twin’s father, Troy Thompson. “Obviously, being at least first-team All-Rookie and maybe competing for Rookie of the Year. We’ve got big ambitions.”
