On June 23, 2023, at the NBA Draft, a pair of twin brothers stood out. The Rockets selected older brother Amen Thompson with the No. 4 pick, and the Pistons selected younger brother Osar Thompson with the No. 5 pick. This is the highest pick in NBA history and the 7th pair of twin brothers in NBA history.
For the Rockets, this is their third top-four pick-up rookie in the past three years: 2021 pick-up Jaylen Green, 2022 prospect Jabari Smith Jr., and 2023 No. 4 pick Amen Thompson.
The Thompson brothers are from the OTE league, and Amen Thompson is the first player in the history of the OTE league to be drafted by the NBA. Let's briefly popularize the OTE league: the full name of OTE is overtime elite, mainly for high school players, and the league is divided into two teams: overtime team and elite team. Compared with ordinary high schools, OTE has better software and hardware conditions, stronger teammates and opponents, more NBA scouting attention, and can also earn income through scholarships and NILs, in addition, OTE can be signed for many years, for junior elite high school students have more room and time for growth, in addition to a way back, you can choose to participate in the NBA after OTE or continue to take the NCAA route.
Brother Amen has played a total of 16 games in the OTE league this season, averaging 27.5 minutes per game, averaging 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.3 steals, 0.9 blocks and 3.2 turnovers while shooting 56.9 percent from the field, 25 percent from three-point range and 56.6 percent from the free throw line. Younger brother Osar has played a total of 16 games in the OTE league this season, averaging 27.6 minutes per game, averaging 16.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.7 steals, 1.3 blocks and 3.4 turnovers while shooting 48 percent from the field, 29.8 percent from three-point range and 66.2 percent from the free-throw line. Both brothers have shown good strength and well-rounded skills in the OTE League, and they are also the best players in the OTE League.
Both brothers are talented, top athletic, and then both have poor projection. The older brother has better dribbling ability, his position on the field is guard, and his draft template is Jamal Murray. The younger brother's position on the field is forward, more versatile in defense, and even has some rim protection ability, and the projection ability is slightly better than the older brother, and the younger brother's draft template is Jaylen Brown/Ingram.
The older brother is 2.01 meters tall, weighs 199 pounds, and has an arm span of 2.13 meters), jumping 1.06 meters in place and 1.22 meters in run. The younger brother is 2.01 meters tall, weighs 218 pounds, and has an arm span of 2.13 meters.
In terms of development prospects, I am more optimistic about my brother, not only because of the high draft pick. As a tall guard with strong physical fitness, my brother hopes to become a good defender and playmaker, and the league's current tall point guards are quite popular, and they always have a size advantage against outside defenders. On the offensive end, tall defenders can eat hard when facing the opposing ordinary defenders, and once they change defenses to face opposing interior players, they can use the speed advantage to punish the opponent, and tall defenders make the team's tactics richer.
The younger brother's position is forward, and Bojan, Bagley, Stewart and others are in the same position as him in the Pistons, so his playing time is difficult to guarantee, which will inevitably have an impact on his personal development.
The Thompson brothers became the first pair of brothers in NBA history to be selected by the top five picks in the same draft, and the second pair of brothers in NBA history to be selected with two consecutive adjacent picks. Although it is also called Thompson, but the brothers' projection ability is too poor, it is estimated that Clay will look at it and say: You are also worthy of being called Thompson? Projection is where they need to work hard next.
The previous 6 pairs of twin brothers in NBA history are: Caleb Martin and Cody Martin, Jason Collins and Jalen Collins, Marcus Morris and Markieffe Morris, Brooke Lopez and Robin Lopez, Horace Grant and Harvey Grant, Dick Van Alsdale and Tom Van Alsdale.
Fans are known to the Martin brothers, the Morris brothers and the Lopez brothers. Caleb Martin was a major contributor to the Heat's Finals reach last season, second only to Butler in the Eastern Conference MVP rankings. The Morris brothers' names go without saying, they have played for the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Nets and other teams, and now they can also be on the rotation list. Among the Lopez brothers, the older brother is more famous, he won the championship with the Bucks, made the All-Defensive First Team this season, and the younger brother is better known more for his violent behavior of beating mascots.
The Thompson brothers have the strength of explosive physical fitness and excellent athleticism, but the disadvantage is poor projection, even free throws, so they need to work more on this. Because the OTE league is too uncompetitive, they have not been honed by high-intensity leagues, so it is unknown whether they can adapt to the intensity of the NBA. But the talent is definitely there, and the rest is to see how hard they work.
What do you think of the development prospects of these two brothers?