Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson has agreed to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale contract extension, ESPN reported on September 18. The deal is fully guaranteed and contains no player or team option, which keeps Thompson under Detroit's control through the 2031-32 season. It averages roughly $31 million per year.
Thompson, 23, was drafted fifth overall in 2023. Last season he averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.9 blocks, and led the entire league in steals at 2.0 per game. He was named to the All-Defensive First Team and finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Since entering the league in 2023 he has recorded more than 300 steals and more than 150 blocks, and he combined for 215 steals and blocks last season alone.
Across 14 games through the Eastern Conference semifinals, Thompson averaged 8.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks. He became the first player to record at least 25 steals and 25 blocks in a single postseason since Anthony Davis did it in 2020. Detroit's run ended in the conference semifinals, where the Pistons and Cavaliers went the distance — the series reached a Game 7 on May 17.
Thompson was diagnosed with a blood clot in March 2024 and did not receive NBA clearance to play again until eight months later. He returned partway through the 2024-25 season and has played two seasons since, and Detroit has now committed fully guaranteed money against that history.
His twin brother, Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson, signed a five-year, $208 million extension earlier this month. The two contracts total $363 million, and the Thompsons are the first pair of brothers to each sign an NBA deal worth more than $100 million. Amen was drafted fourth overall in 2023, one pick ahead of Ausar.
The extension leaves Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon one piece of business unfinished. Center Jalen Duren remains an unsigned restricted free agent, and the two sides have not agreed on terms.
Thompson's number lands below the figures at the top of the league's recent extension market — Victor Wembanyama took $252 million from San Antonio this summer — and above the veteran tier, where Dillon Brooks agreed to three years and $73 million with Phoenix.
Source: ESPN
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