How Ausar Thompson Fits with the OKC Thunder
With the Oklahoma City Thunder officially out of the NBA playoffs, it’s time to switch gears to prospect evaluation mode.
And this year’s impending draft has plenty of players that can help bolster the OKC core.
No matter how unlikely it is Oklahoma City lands certain prospects, the Thunder Fit series will take a look at how they would fit with the current team’s configuration. And with a war chest of assets, you never know how far the front office could move up to acquire a player.
The next prospect up in the series is guard-forward hybrid and one half of the Thompson twin duo, Ausar Thompson, who won the MVP award in the Overtime Elite league.
Here’s how Thompson could fit alongside the rest of the Thunder core:
Offense
Offensively, Ausar is much more off-ball oriented than his brother Amen, who thrived as a lead ball-handler and primary playmaker for the City Reapers squad.
Alongside his brother, Ausar averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 assists and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 48 percent from the floor and a respectable 32 percent from three.
In OKC’s creationist-heavy system, Ausar fits much better as an off-ball and tertiary wing. He would immediately be the Thunder’s most athletic player and could likely hold his own well on cuts, lobs and transition buckets.
Ausar's 3-point shooting will need some bolstering before it's a legitimate weapon in the NBA, but he's got a much better starting point that his brother, and would have plenty of space to work on it in OKC's five-out system.
His live-dribble game is still a work in progress, but he could eventually stand out with some patented OKC development.
Defense
Defensively, Ausar is the better of the two prospects. He’s adept at disrupting passing lanes, staying in front of the opposition with great footwork and using strength to his advantage, both sizing up and down.
At 6-foot-7 with a plug wingspan, he’ll likely have the ability to guard one through three at an elite level, and potentially even some larger forwards down the line.
Alongside Luguentz Dort, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, Ausar would help to anchor what would likely be an extremely stout Thunder defense.
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