Detroit has moved to keep Ausar Thompson in its core, with the Pistons agreeing to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale extension for the All-Defensive First Team forward.
The deal locks in one of the league’s most disruptive perimeter defenders after Thompson helped power Detroit to the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season. He will remain under team control as the Pistons build around their young two-way group.
Quick facts
- Ausar Thompson has agreed to a five-year extension worth $155 million.
- He averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and an NBA-best 2.0 steals last season.
- Thompson made the All-Defensive First Team and placed third in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
- In 14 playoff games, he posted 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.
- His brother Amen Thompson recently agreed to a five-year, $208 million extension with Houston.
Thompson’s offensive line remained modest, but his value showed up in the possessions Detroit could blow up before they developed. He led the league in steals at 2.0 per game while adding 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
That work earned him a spot on the All-Defensive First Team, and he finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year race. For a Detroit club that finished atop the East, Thompson became a matchup piece capable of taking on ball-handlers, wings and switching assignments.
He carried that activity into the 2026 postseason. Across 14 playoff appearances, Thompson averaged 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks, reaching at least 25 steals and 25 blocks in one playoff run.
Anthony Davis was the last player to hit both of those postseason marks, doing so in 2020. Thompson’s combination of backcourt pressure, recovery length and weak-side rim protection gave Detroit a different kind of defensive lever during the playoff run.
The agreement also puts the Thompson twins on the edge of a league first. Amen Thompson agreed earlier this month to a five-year, $208 million rookie-scale extension with the Houston Rockets.
Once both contracts are completed, Ausar and Amen would become the first brothers in NBA history to each sign deals worth at least $100 million. Their extensions total $363 million this offseason.
