Twins Amen and Ausar Thompson set to be taken in top-10 of NBA Draft

For all thethingsthe ThompsonTwinsshare — middle name, appetite for burgers, dynamicbasketball skill sets — matching suits on draft night won’t be oneof them.

Amen andAusar Thompson are dressing for success in their own unique styleas they prepare to go in their own separate directions for reallythe first time. The 6-foot-7 guards out of Overtime Elite areprojectedinthe AP mock draftto be selected in the top 10 Thursdaynight in New York.

That means,barring a daring move by a team, they will wind up in differentcities.

It’s asituation that’s still hard to fully fathom for the 20-year-oldsfrom California. It’s also a situation that reveals another sharedtrait: Their sense of humor.

“We’ll justconstantly text each other,”explained Amen,who’sthe older twin by a minute.

“But youdon’t check your phone,” Ausar quickly countered.

“He’s lying,”Amen responded.

Kiddingaside, their aim is to live up to their shared middle name of“XLNC” (pronounced excellence), which was bestowed on them toconvey a sense of power.

“Just so withevery time you’re saying their name, there’s that power behind it,”their dad, Troy, said. “Excellence, greatness — we always use allthese power words and so do they, in their own expressions, sothey’re always thinking on that high note.”

The Thompsonsmoved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Florida when the twinswere in eighth grade to enhance their basketball careers. Theplaymakers shined at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, leadingthe team to a state title. They received offers from severaltraditional Power Five basketball programs.

Instead, theypivoted.

The twinstook the road less traveled to the NBA draft by signingwithOvertime Elite, a professional basketballleague based in Atlanta that’s opening another door to the pros fortalented young players.

It was achance to focus on basketball full-time and build up theirstrength. They did, too, adding 25 pounds of muscle over theirtwo-year tenure with the league. An opportunity at a paycheck, too— Overtime Elite, which launched in 2021, compensates players withannual salaries of at least $100,000.

Their firstyear, the twins played on different Overtime Elite teams.

This pastseason, they combined — and dominated.

Amen (rhymeswith “a pen”) averaged 17.2 points, 9.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds inthe playoffsto lead the CityReapersto the championship.

Not to beoutdone, Ausar (rhymes with “a car”), had apostseasonin whichheaveraged 21 points, 4.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds.

When itcametime to vote fortheleague’s regular season MVP award, it was no surprisewho voted for whom.

Ausar forAmen.

Amen forAusar.

Ausar earnedMVP (along with the postseason version, too).

“It wouldhave been funny” if Ausar won by one vote, Amen joked. “I would’vetaken mine back.”

They enjoyteasing one another — and pushing each other. They’re always in thegym, hoisting up shots or working on their footwork. They’recompetitive, too, whether it be in friendly games on the court orin the video game NBA 2K, where they’re in agreement — Ausar reignssupreme on the video-game controller in hoops.

Their go-tomeal comes from In-N-Out Burger. Ausar prefers a doublecheeseburger with lettuce and special sauce, maybe grilled onions.Amen likes the same, just hold the cheese.

Amen’sscouting report reads like this: Explosive athleticism, withexceptional court vision. Can break down defenders with hisball-handling skills and elite first step.

Ausar’sreport: Essentially the same as his brother.

Ausarprojects as more of a combo guard and Amen as a ball handler in theNBA. Amen is predicted to go fourth overall to Houston and Ausarsixth to Orlando.

Their dad sawa path to the twins being elite when they were around 8 and goingagainst players three, sometimes four, years older.

“You knewthat their forward trajectory was going to be fast, because theywere already improving at such a high rate,” Troy said. “From hereon, I just want to enjoy watching them continue to grow into thisdream and just achieve the greatness they always talked about.”

They describetheir bond as “twin telepathy,” which Ausar said comes in handy notonly on the basketball floor but in life.

Don’t ask forspecifics, though, because that’s top secret.

“It would bebad for the world if everybody knew how to do it. I just know wherehe’s going to be at all times,” Ausar said.

Leading intothe draft, they’ve been traveling to work out for interested teams.In Portland, they met Damian Lillard. A year ago, they wereintroduced to Golden State Warriors great Stephen Curry at hiscamp.

“It’s supercool meeting them,” Ausar said.

Amen andAusar said they’ve competed against many of the big names in thedraft class with the exception ofVictorWembanyama, the French star who is expected to go No. 1tothe San Antonio Spurs.

The twins arebracing for the likely separation and distance between them.They’re even planning for the big moment when both meet on the sameNBA court at a soon-to-be-determined spot.

“That,” Amensaid, “is going to make for one cool picture.”