Detroit Pistons: Ausar Thompson takes surprise spot in recent rankings

Fans were gutted when the Detroit Pistons fell to 5th in the 2023 NBA Draft after suffering through one of the worst seasons in team history.

All season we dreamed of Victor Wembanyama in a Pistons’ uniform, but at the very least hoped the team would stay in the top three and get a chance to add Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, who were also billed as potential stars in this draft.

But after watching Ausar Thompson in Summer League, I’m starting to think the Pistons may have lucked out, and some publications agree, as he might have as much two-way potential as anyone in the draft.

Detroit Pistons: Ausar Thompson takes surprise spot in recent rankings

Recently, Bleacher Report ranked the highest ceilings for players taken in the 2023 NBA Draft and you might be surprised where Ausar Thompson ended up.

Ausar was ranked 3rd overall, just behind Victor Wembanyama (1) and his brother Amen Thompson, who came in 2nd.

So B/R has both Thompsons ranked ahead of Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller, which would be great news for the Detroit Pistons if it turns out to be true.

Here is some of what Andy Bailey had to say:

"“If we were to simulate the careers of everyone in the 2023 draft class 100 times, Henderson might wind up better than both of the Thompson twins a majority of the time.But the absolute best-case scenario for each of Amen and Ausar is probably a little better than Scoot’s. Again, that has a lot to do with their size (big playmakers are increasingly important in today’s game), but both are also top-tier athletes who put up good assist numbers (6.1 per game for Ausar, 5.9 for Amen).”"

There were even debates about whether Ausar should be ahead of his brother on this list, an argument that will likely carry on for years to come.

None of these rankings matter much until we see results on the court, but from what we’ve seen so far from Ausar Thompson, he could be the two-way wing the Pistons have been looking for since the days of Tayshaun Prince.