Ausar Thompson Has Changed the Detroit Pistons Season
Coming off a major health complication that kept him out over eight months, the second-year forward is making a wild impact.
The Detroit Pistons didn’t get to celebrate the New Year like everyone else. Popping champagne, partying with friends, saying goodbye to 2024 and welcoming in 2025 and all it’s new challenges. Instead, the Pistons had a job to do, defeating the Orlando Magic to break open the New Year.
And yes, while they did win against Orlando, it came with a punishing loss that felt like a season-altering one. Late in the game, the Pistons lost Jaden Ivey to what is believed to be a season-ending injury after Cole Anthony dove into the third-year guard's leg, breaking his fibula.
Many viewed Ivey as the second-best player on the roster and, indeed, the next-best ball-handler on the team after franchise player Cade Cunningham. Losing the dynamic guard on the first day of the new year was an absolute gut punch to a team and fanbase looking to flip the script after a season of pain. It seemed as though the Pistons would continue to get the short end of the stick.
Sitting at 15-18, finishing up their first .500 month in years in December, the brief thought of “are we on the way up?” by Pistons fans was quickly met with heartbreak and anguish.
The season was thrown off the rails. How could this team handle the loss of such a necessary, high-usage ball handler with no straightforward replacement?
It was over.
Enter Ausar Thompson.
Thompson himself had dealt with a significant health condition: blood clots that had kept him out since the beginning of 2024. These clots prevented him from having a typical offseason, and he missed training camp and the start of the Pistons season. By January 1st, Thompson had only played 12 games, exceeding 25 minutes of game action once.
The front office and the fanbase viewed the second-year player very highly. However, after missing so much time and having a questionable offensive fit with other young core members, there was hesitance about whether Thompson would
make an impact this season.
These questions were answered almost immediately.
As mentioned, the Pistons finished 5-5 in December, their first .500 month in years. However, examining the film and numbers further and beyond the result reveals that that month was fluky, and the play was unsustainable.
Despite going .500, the Pistons' net rating of -5.6 in December placed them 22nd in the NBA. This rating would put them behind the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Orlando Magic, all of which the Pistons currently find themselves ahead of in the standings.
The main culprit of this issue was the Pistons' terrible defense. While the offense ranked 11th in December, the defense was among the worst in the league. Their 119.3 defensive rating in December was only ahead of the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers, two teams that are not taking this season seriously in terms of winning games.
The Pistons were winning games, but not in a way that was convincing of long-term sustainability.
Since Thompson entered the starting lineup, the situation has completely flipped in a way I can’t remember seeing happen to a team mid-season.
Since January 1st, the Pistons have a record of 20-9 and currently sit 6th in the Eastern Conference and only a game out of 4th place. The saw themselves go on a winning streak that hasn’t been seen since the days of Chauncey Billups’ clutch plays and Richard Hamilton donning the mask.
The key difference?
Ausar Thompson.
A Pistons defense that was wrecked by every team in the NBA is now considered one of the best in the league. Since January 4th, when Thompson was inserted into the starting lineup, the Pistons have a defensive rating of 110.4, a considerable 8.9 jump from their December performance. This would rank them as the fourth-best defense over this period.
Thompson’s ability to shut the water off on opposing ball dribble penetration has warped the Pistons defense. Before Thompson started, the Pistons employed Ivey and Tim Hardaway Jr. as their point-of-attack defenders, a recipe for disaster. Along with a big man like Jalen Duren, who had been struggling defensively and admitting he was not playing well at the time, this sent the Pistons defense to hell.
Duren's defensive struggles had many questions about his long-term placement with this team. While the big man certainly has his weaknesses on defense, having perimeter defense in front of that was as strong as wet toilet paper, and constantly putting the Pistons defense in rotation was not helping him.
With Thompson in front of him, everything has changed for the Memphis product. Thompson and Duren's duo is crushing teams on the defensive end of the floor, holding opponents to 108.6 points per 100 possessions.
Since Thompson was added to the starting lineup, the Pistons’ defense went from 9.6 points *worse* with Duren on the floor before January 4th to 1.5 points *better* with Duren on the floor, an 11.1 point difference.
Not a coincidence.
Thompson is not only one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the league, but he’s also potentially the most versatile defender. His size, length, and alien-like athleticism make it feel like he is everywhere on the floor at once. He’s averaging 2.2 steals per game since he was inserted into the starting lineup, and his steal % of 3.7 ranks in the 100th percentile in the NBA.
The OTE product has wholly warped the Pistons team defense and has helped give a better insight into Duren’s defensive capabilities when paired with an All-Defense level defender with him.
There’s another end of the floor in basketball, however.
The offensive end.
Whether you could play two non-shooters like Duren and Thompson together in 2025 was a fair and worrisome question. In a league where the main talking points by its media are “too many threes!”, having two players who don’t shoot outside shots was concerning.
While Thompson has the defensive ability to change a team’s defense, many questioned how much offensive impact he could have without a reliable jump shot.
Those who questioned Thompson’s offensive impact were flatly wrong.
Since Thompson entered the starting lineup, as has their defense, the Pistons' offense has wholly leveled up! Since January 4th, the Pistons have had the seventh-best offense in the NBA! How is this possible?
First, the defense is creating an easy offense for the Pistons. With athletes like Thompson and Duren running and a guard like Cunningham leading the break, it is tough for the Pistons to stop in transition off of defensive rebounds and forced turnovers.
Since January 4th, the Pistons have ranked 6th in the NBA in points off of turnovers and 1st(!) in fast-break points! Detroit's incredible defense allows them to use their rare athleticism and playmaking at multiple positions to create easy buckets before their opponent’s defense can get set.
Thompson’s playmaking ability and quick processing is displayed every time he gets a defensive rebound or a steal, constantly generating open looks for the Pistons in transition. Combine this with his athleticism, which has rarely been seen in NBA history, which allows him to run the floor and finish plays at the rim that other players don’t have the option of even trying, let alone finishing.
However, the Pistons' offense hasn’t just been good in transition; they’ve also found ways to generate good offense within the halfcourt. Yes, a lot of this can be attributed to having a franchise player play like an All-NBA player in Cade Cunningham. His shotmaking and ability to read the floor and make the right reads based on the advantages he creates have generated good offensive looks for the Pistons.
But, the Pistons also needed someone else to create advantages and put pressure on the rim. Thompson has contributed in that department and has seen his ball-handling duties increase, which is what made him such a tantalizing prospect coming out of OTE in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Before January 4th, Thompson's assist percentage was just 13.1, and his turnover percentage was 18.4—not remarkable. However, since then, his assist percentage has jumped to 16.5, and his turnover percentage has dropped to 12.3. Thompson is now averaging 2.7 assists to just 1.2 turnovers per game since being inserted as a starter.
Not only have you seen him become more aggressive as a playmaker, you’ve seen him become more aggressive as a scorer. Thompson is shooting 69.1 percent at the rim this season and 59 percent from the floor since becoming a starter.
The number that should catch your eye is his FTr (free throw rate). Thompson’s FTr has jumped from 24.8% as a rookie to 30.3% as a sophomore this season, primarily due to him becoming a more aggressive scorer at the rim.
Thompson's ability to operate as a playmaker and a slasher with the ball in his hands mitigates the damage of his not being a capable shooter at this point in his career. Outside of his outside shot, Thompson has improved offensively in just about every way this season.
Along with his improvement with the ball in his hands, his ability to dominate the baseline and the slot area as a cutter has made it hard to stop the Pistons within the halfcourt.
One of the benefits of having Cunningham lead your offense every night, primarily out of pick-and-roll, is that he often attracts two-on-ball situations when the defense taps, blitzes, or double-teams a player within the halfcourt. You need players capable of making the correct decisions and reads out of this advantage Cunningham creates. Duren and Thompson are incredibly gifted passers who can make reads from the short roll.
As you’ll see in the clip above, Cunningham attracts two defenders in a game against the Hawks. He leaves a pass off for Duren to attack four on three out of the short roll. Thompson will time his cut along the baseline perfectly with Duren’s drive. Having a big man make this read instead of fumbling with the ball in his hands, and an athlete like Thompson, who makes a reverse catch and finishes look routine, make it hard to stop the Pistons offense.
This is why the Pistons' new starting lineup is suffocating teams defensively and dominating them offensively. This starting lineup of Cunningham, Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harris, and Duren has now played 358 minutes. They are outscoring opponents by 9.03 points per 100 possessions, have a defensive rating of 110.20, and have an offensive rating of 119.23. That offensive rating would rank second in the NBA.
Thompson has completely changed how the Pistons play on both ends. Outside of Cunningham, no player has impacted this team’s season more than Thompson. And as his minutes have picked up and stamina has gotten better, his overall stats have looked even better. In the last 18 games, Thompson is averaging 11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists to just 1.3 turnovers, 2,4 steals, all while shooting 62 percent from the field.
The Pistons are 12-6 in these games.
The loss of Ivey was devastating, and seeing him with this version of the Pistons next season in place of Hardaway Jr. will be more than exciting. If there was a silver lining to such a devastating New Year's Day, it was the gift of Ausar Thompson being inserted into the starting lineup.
With the Pistons now fighting not just for a playoff berth, but home court advantage, one thing has been sure…
Ausar Thompson changed the Detroit Pistons season.