Best fit and upside as NBA guards

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A lot has been said about the big three in the 2023 NBA Draft class: Victor Wembanyama is the clear-cut No. 1 pick, closely followed by G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson and Alabama wing Brandon Miller. Quietly lurking in the shadows of those three top prospects are twins Amen and Ausar Thompson from Overtime Elite. The 6-foot-7 duo took a chance on a new opportunity and chose their own path to the NBA, becoming a few of the first players to sign with OTE in 2021 for its inaugural season. Since then, the OTE Arena in Atlanta has become a must-stop for NBA scouts and executives as the twins continued to work on their game.

Amen excels as a primary ball-handler, playing point guard his entire career, while Ausar is more of a combo guard who has played off the ball alongside his twin brother. During high school basketball, when the pair were playing for Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, both players made up one of the most electric backcourts in high school basketball and carried that to OTE. That year, the duo led Pine Crest to a state championship — Amen finished with 43 points and 13 rebounds in the double-overtime win — and both were named Broward County Co-Player of the Year.

“That was probably one of the best games I’ve ever seen Amen play and I’ve seen him play a lot of games,” Ausar told Yahoo Sports. “I fouled out and he just got this look in his eye like he was going to take over the game and that’s exactly what he did. It was crazy.”

This past season at OTE, Amen and Ausar teamed up one last time. Ausar was instrumental in the pair winning the OTE championship, hitting the winner in Game 3 and walking away with MVP honors.

“I’m glad we had the opportunity to play together one last time before we hit the league,” Amen said. “He makes me a better player whether that’s just in practice or even in games with the cuts he makes, it makes me a better passer.”

Overtime Elite guards Ausar Thompson (0) and Amen Thompson (1) are among the second tier of players in this year’s NBA Draft after the top three. (Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports)

Both Amen and Ausar are projected toward the top of the…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-06-06 21:55:46

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