Rare NBA Draft feat with Thompson twins not a first in sports
Selected with back-to-back picks Thursday night, the Thompson twins, Amen and Ausar, became the first set of brothers picked among the top five in the same NBA Draft. While the twins' feat may be unique to the NBA, it has happened before outside basketball.
Over two decades ago, Swedish twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin went Nos. 2 and No. 3 to the Vancouver Canucks in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
The Sedins recorded 2,034 combined points over 17 NHL seasons. That's the second-most by a pair of brothers in league history, trailing only Wayne and Brent Gretzky (2,861), though the "Great One" pulled most of the weight, posting 2,857 career points. In 2022, four years after retiring from the game, the Sedins received the call to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Much like the Thompsons, the Sedins grew up playing together. However, the Sedins also embarked on their NHL journey together, spending the entirety of their time in the NHL with the Canucks. The Thompsons won't have that luxury.
After coming up together with City Reapers of the Overtime Elite League, the Thompsons will begin their NBA journeys alone. With Amen heading to the Houston Rockets and Ausar to the Detroit Pistons, the brothers will also play in two different conferences.
Overall, the Thompsons are the fifth pair of twins to reach the NBA, joining Markieff and Marcus Morris, Caleb and Cody Martin, Brook and Robin Lopez and Julian and Justin Champagnie. However, the expectations might be a tad higher for Amen and Ausar after each went in the top five.
Without eiether playing a day in the NBA, the Thompsons' father, Troy, believes his sons will meet those expectations head-on. He told Eric Woodyard of ESPN that the brothers have ambitions to earn first-team All-Rookie honors while competing for Rookie of the Year during the 2023-24 season.
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