Ausar Thompson edges out his brother on the NBA Rookie Ladder
For the last four seasons, the Detroit Pistons have not been involved in postseason awards except for the All-Rookie teams, where they've placed at least one player for the last three seasons and counting.
Ausar Thompson hopes to make it four years in a row, and for much of the early season, it looked like a lock, as he was putting up monster all-around numbers and many had him ranked just below Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren in the rookie standings.
But reduced playing time and a slump put that in jeopardy, as Thompson was yanked in and out of the starting lineup and found himself plummetting down the rookie ladder.
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Thompson has been playing well of late and is slowly starting to inch his way up again in his quest to end up on the All-Rookie team.
Ausar Thompson on the NBA Rookie Ladder
Ausar's biggest competition may come from his twin brother, who has also played well for Houston since getting more minutes after starting the season on the bench and even catching a two-game stint in the G-League.
Ausar just inched past Amen in the latest Rookie Ladder, which is the NBA's weekly ranking of first-year players.
The two at the top haven't changed, as Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren are in a two-man race for Rookie of the Year and there is a big gap between them and the rest.
Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski round out the top five after continuing their strong play for their respective teams, two of which (Miami, and Golden State) are in the playoff hunt.
Keyonte George, Derrick Lively II and Cam Whitmore all came in ahead of the Ausar at 9th and twin brother Amen at 10th.
Ausar still gets the nod over his brother, as his 8.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.9 apg are superior to Amen's 7.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, though both are on losing teams that are well out of the playoff picture.
A strong finish should land Ausar Thompson on the All-Rookie team but at some point, all of these Pistons' rookies need to graduate to making a more meaningful impact on winning instead of just providing more hope for the future.
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