ESPN’s Top 100 player rankings recently came out and the Pistons made a lot of headway from last season. The Pistons had three individual players make the list this season and Cade Cunningham was one of the biggest jumpers in the entire league finishing at 12 going into next season. However, one notable exemption from the Pistons is Ausar Thompson, who is arguably the second best player on the team, but did not make the list over other Pistons.
Ausar Thompson’s impact goes beyond the raw stats
Asuar Thompson is a relatively unique prototype in today’s NBA. In a league where shooting dominates so many of the headlines and has spread throughout every position, Thompson is still a non-shooter making a tremendous impact as a non-big. His impact comes primarily on the defensive end and does not show up in the box score on a consistent basis, so he’s often overlooked by the media.
Thompson is one of the very best and most versatile defenders in the NBA. Last season, the Pistons got a great sample size of the team with and without him because he missed a good chunk of the first half with a blood clot issue. After Thompson returned to full strength and ramped up his minutes, the team looked much better - especially defensively. The Pistons went on a tear in the last 50 games of the season to make the playoffs.
Ausar’s impact will not be properly recognized by most media members and fans until his counting stats spike up and he’s able to have a fully healthy season. Fortunately for the Pistons, both of these leaps might be coming soon. Thompson is coming off the first proper offseason of his NBA career, and wants to show more improvement on both sides of the ball.
Defensively, he has stated that he wants to win Defensive Player of the Year - a lofty goal for sure but one that he’s capable of achieving. It may take a look into the advanced analytics and an incredible team defense, which Ausar will spearhead, but he has the physical tools and defensive processing to be on the short list of best defenders in the league. Even in the basic defensive stats, Ausar averaged 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game last season in just 22.5 minutes per game.
But offense is where we can really expect substantial improvement and really push Thompson higher up the player rankings. Any improvement in his shooting stroke will be very welcome, but it’s not fully necessary for him to become a positive on offense.
Increased aggression and a tighter handle from Ausar can fully weaponize his athleticism and processing as both a driver and playmaker. This will also allow him to fill in versatile roles, including some time as a lead playmaker on backup units.
The Pistons’ rise as a team is obvious when looking at ESPN rankings from year to year. It’s great to see Cade Cunningham jump all the way up to 12, and even see some love for Tobias Harris and Jaden Ivey. But Ausar Thompson still finds himself underrated by the national media and will have a chip on his shoulder to prove them wrong this season.