The Thompson Twins Just Secured $363 Million And Made Basketball History

Amen and Ausar Thompson's combined contract value now sits at a historic height and no other pair of brothers in NBA history can touch their numbers anytime soon. The twins went back to back in the 2023 draft, one at No. 4 and the other at No. 5. Three years later, two front offices have each committed more than $100 million to one of them. Amen got his deal first. Ausar followed within weeks, and the two contracts carry very different price tags. Here is how the money breaks down and why both teams were happy to pay it.

Amen and Ausar Thompson's Combined Contract Details

Amen Thompson laid the foundation of the historic record. Earlier this month, the Houston Rockets agreed to a five-year, $208 million extension with him, and the contract includes a 10% trade kicker. Two weeks later, Ausar Thompson and the Detroit Pistons answered with a five-year, $155 million extension of their own. ESPN's Shams Charania was first to report it. The deal is fully guaranteed, and both contracts begin in the 2027-28 season, after the brothers finish their rookie deals.

Put the two side by side and the total lands at $363 million. The $208 million star holds a $53 million edge over the $155 million forward, so family bragging rights belong to Amen for now. Neither has turned 24 yet.

Amen and Ausar are the first brothers in NBA history to each sign a deal worth at least $100 million. Other siblings have cashed in, just not at this scale. Marcus Morris signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Clippers in 2020, and his twin Markieff took a four-year, $32 million rookie-scale extension from Phoenix in 2014. 

Keegan Murray, Sacramento's No. 4 pick in 2022, agreed to a five-year, $140 million extension, while his twin Kris is still on a rookie-scale deal after a move to Memphis. Julian Champagnie has a three-year, $45 million extension from San Antonio. His brother Justin signed a four-year, $10 million contract with Washington in 2025.

The original rookie contracts were worth about $40 million for Amen and $36 million for Ausar. Add the new extensions and teams have now committed roughly $439 million to the twins since 2023.

Why Amen and Ausar Thompson Got Paid That Much

None of the three reports lists yearly salaries or the cap hit for either club, so those figures are not clear yet. Both deals are five-year rookie-scale extensions, Ausar's is fully guaranteed, Amen's carries the trade kicker, and the new money starts in 2027-28.

So why pay this much? Defense comes first. Ausar led the league with 2.0 steals per game last season while averaging 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting and made the All-Defensive First Team, the first Pistons player to do that since Ben Wallace two decades ago. In 14 playoff games he piled up 28 steals and 25 blocks, and no one had reached 25 of both in a single postseason since Anthony Davis in 2020.

Amen brings more scoring. He posted career highs of 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals, and he played a league-high 2,953 minutes. He placed eighth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and made the All-Defensive First Team in 2024-25.

The teams have climbed alongside them. Houston won 42 games combined in the two seasons before drafting Amen. The Rockets went 41-41 in his rookie year, then 52-30 in each of the next two, and they have made consecutive playoff trips. Detroit started from a much lower floor. 

The Pistons went 14-68 in Ausar's rookie season, which included a record 28 straight losses. They won 44 games and reached the playoffs in 2024-25, then went 60-22 last season, the best record in the East, before losing Game 7 of the second round to Cleveland.

The new money starts in 2027-28. Until then, both twins still have rookie contracts to finish.