As the “Jalen Duren soap opera” seems to have definitively ended with a breakdown in negotiations, Ausar Thompson is the one who has tied his future to the Detroit Pistons by signing a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale extension, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
That prize comes to the 23-year-old after an excellent 2025-26 campaign in which he was named to the All-Defensive First Team and finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.
With averages of 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.9 blocks last season, Thompson made clear that he is a very complete player who also brings a defensive edge that few players can offer in the NBA. Additionally, he accumulated the third-highest combined total of steals and blocks with 215.
If the numbers so far are impressive, in the playoffs Thompson went a step further. In 14 games played up to the Eastern Conference semifinals, he averaged 8.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2 steals and 1.8 blocks, becoming the first player to record at least 25 steals and 25 blocks in a postseason since Anthony Davis in 2020.
A Million-Dollar Summer for the Thompson Twins
Following the Pistons’ agreement with Ausar Thompson, we can say that he and his twin brother, Amen Thompson (from the Houston Rockets), have become the first brothers to each receive a $100 million contract in the NBA. Amen recently signed a five-year, $208 million extension with the Rockets, bringing their combined total to $363 million for both.
