Ausar Thompson says it’s time to become rivals with his twin brother, Amen Thompson.
The 20-year-old identical twins made history when they were picked No. 4 (Amen Thompson) and No. 5 (Ausar Thompson) in the NBA draft June 22 by the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, respectively. They became the first pair of brothers to go into the Top Five in the same draft since the 1976 NBA-ABA merger, according to ESPN.
The twins appeared on the 3rd hour of "TODAY" on June 23 with their parents, Maya and Troy Thompson, and brother Troy Thompson, Jr.
The Pistons’ new addition wished for a rivalry with his twin brother after Savannah Sellers asked them about the vision board they made as kids, on which they expressed their goal to play in the NBA. The twins shared what’s on their vision boards now.
“I got to revise it,” Amen Thompson said. “Make a new one, dream board 2.0, I guess. I got to figure out what I got to put on it. I’m going to put it on my wall though. I’m going to do it again.”
Ausar Thompson had a more specific answer.
“I’m going to make one too: win a championship,” he declared. “Hopefully I get to play him. Maybe it’s a rivalry. Hopefully I get to beat him in the championship. It would only be right.”
Prior to the draft, the two played on the same team for Overtime Elite, a basketball league designed as another option to playing in college or overseas for those between the ages of 16 and 20. The brothers also regularly played on the same teams growing up in San Leandro, California. They attended high school at Pine Crest in Florida.
Amen Thompson said it “felt amazing” to be drafted.
“It felt like a dream come true to hear my name called. And then to hear his, what, five minutes later. I wasn’t even out the (backstage) yet.”
“It was surreal to go back-to-back, be the first brothers in the same draft drafted in the Top 10, and we got Top Five as well,” Ausar Thompson said. “We set two records, so that felt great.”
The twins credited their parents and brother for helping to make their dreams possible.
“I felt like it was very special to have the people that’s been supporting me my whole life, always have my back, always guide me in the right way. It just meant a lot to have them here with me,” Ausar Thompson said.
Amen Thompson agreed.
“They were there to help me come up with my dream. They were there to support me through everything, so them being there meant everything,” he said.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com.
