Diving Into Ausar Thompson's Defense
Every time Ausar Thompson steps foot on the court, his outlier tools are on full display as he puts on a show of dunks and dimes. But what sometimes gets lost in the madness is his greatness on the defensive end.
According to Cerebro Sports, the City Reapers’ 6-foot-7 superstar leads Overtime Elite with 4.2 stocks (steals+blocks) per contest. This consists of 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, an average that doubles the block production of his twin, Amen Thompson.
He makes all these defensive plays while only fouling 1.7 times a night. With such eye-popping statistics, it’s only right to take a dive into the strengths and improvement areas of Thompson’s defense.
One would have to look to the greatest defensive wings the game has ever seen to find a comparable lateral mover to Thompson. The speed at which he slides with, and the quickness in which he changes directions is simply absurd. He beats ball handlers to the spot like few others, and if met with contact after doing so, he’s strong enough to hold his ground.
Such physical attributes make it nearly impossible for offensive players to beat him, or create any separation from him off-the-dribble. On the rare occasion they do, however, Thompson has quite the assortment of recovery methods to rely on, primarily fueled by two other outstanding physical traits: his leaping ability and his hands.
Making a play while guarded by Thompson requires multiple layers of excellence. He’s able to fly at defenders through the air to seal up any airspace given up and get a smothering contest up.
He often also dials his recoveries up a notch by targeting the ball. His stellar hand-eye coordination combined with the strength and swiftness of his hands allow him to rack up deflections, either by poking the ball out of the handler’s grasp, or by skying up to reject their shot.
However, Thompson doesn’t just take advantage of his chaotic hands as a last resort, he also proactively utilizes them to create havoc. Normally, when a player attempts to prod the ball loose from a player’s dribble, they risk a blow-by in that split second they’re out of position. But the City Reapers’ star can spring back into position and cut off a blow-by attempt so rapidly that attempting to poke at the ball is a worthwhile gamble.
With such a reliable safety net to fall back on, Thompson can fully lean into this predatory style of on-ball defense without the negative symptoms that usually come with it.
Thompson’s defensive prowess extends past just guarding the ball, though. He’s a force helping in the gaps, where he once again makes good use of his hands to jab the ball free.
His ability to seemingly teleport through space allows him to overextend his help while still being in range to close out to shooters.
The 19-year-old also remains a stifling help defender when it involves protecting the rim. He has the bounce to play well above the rim, and his knack for making contact with the ball helps him tally oodles of blocks both in the half-court and in transition.
Even with his level of defensive dominance, there are still areas of improvement for Thompson. Specifically, to maximize his impact as an on-ball defender, he needs to work on his preparation for ensuing ball screens. He has the strength and nimbleness to withstand bumps and get around screens, but it doesn’t matter when his footwork is unready.
The good news is that this should be low-hanging fruit to pick.
Overall, Thompson is one of the best defensive prospects in recent memory, with multiple pathways to dominance at the next level. He has the lateral speed to pester quick guards, the strength to guard wings, the ground-covering ability to fly around as a help defender and the hands to create chaos while doing it all.
He’ll be a useful NBA defender early on, and in due time, could very well blossom into a versatile weapon on that end of the floor.
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