Pistons Make Official Announcement on Key Player

The Detroit Pistons officially announce the latest on Ausar Thompson.

Feb 10, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson (9) drives past Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

On Monday morning, the Detroit Pistons received great news.

The NBA has officially cleared Ausar Thompson to resume basketball activities. The decision comes months after Thompson was sidelined for the remainder of the 2023-2024 NBA season due to blood clots.

Throughout the preseason and the start of the regular season, Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff remained unsure of when Thompson could finally receive clearance to play again. Fortunately, the wait is over. On Monday, the team officially announced that Thompson will be able to return to practice and begin going through a ramp-up period as he prepares to get back into game action.

Ausar Thompson is cleared for all basketball activities and will now begin a return to play ramp up period #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/LBBIKyO58D

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) November 11, 2024

The last time Ausar Thompson took the floor was back on March 9. The Pistons were at home hosting the Dallas Mavericks. Coming off of a 43-minute shift against the Brooklyn Nets two nights prior, Thompson had an early night against Dallas.

He checked in for 11 minutes. From the field, Thompson was off and struggling, as he made just one of his seven attempts from the field. He wrapped up that game with five rebounds, one steal, and four points.

At that point, Thompson was shut down for the remainder of the year. He missed the final 19 games of the regular season. Before the Pistons went into training camp to begin preparing for the 2024-2025 NBA season, Thompson was not cleared for action. The team had to play the waiting game.

With the Pistons 11 games into the 2024-2025 season, Thompson is finally on his way back. Detroit will open its NBA Cup play on Tuesday night against the Miami Heat. The expectation is that Thompson will not be available for the game.

Elite on-ball defense, 99th percentile athlete, transition demon… Ausar Thompson’s return is everything. pic.twitter.com/BbjmsHsXXC

— Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) November 11, 2024

Since Thompson hasn’t played since last year, they’ll have to ease the former fifth-overall pick back into the game. His official return game is yet to be revealed.

The Pistons look forward to the return of Thompson after he had an intriguing rookie season with the team. While Thompson’s three-point shot is still a work in progress, he produced nine points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field. He also stood out defensively, collecting six rebounds per game, while collecting one steal and one block on average.