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Detroit Pistons Extend Ausar Thompson for $155M
Confirmed
In Short: The Detroit Pistons have locked in Ausar Thompson with a five-year, $155 million extension.
The Detroit Pistons have agreed to a five-year, $155 million extension with wing Ausar Thompson, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Thompson, who was still under contract for one more season, will now be fully guaranteed through the 2027-2028 season.
Thompson's defensive prowess played a key role in the Pistons posting the league's second-best defensive rating last season, at 108.9, per NBA.com. He finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year award race and led the NBA in steals per game.
Fans in Detroit have embraced Thompson's style of play, which mirrors the franchise's successful periods in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and from 2003 to 2008, when the Pistons were known for their physical style of basketball.
Thompson, the fifth overall pick from the 2023 NBA Draft, averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, two steals, and 0.9 blocks per game last season while shooting 52.5 percent from the field.
According to Basketball Index, Thompson ranked in the 99th percentile in perimeter isolation defense, ball screen navigation, and off-ball chaser defense, the 83rd percentile in rim deterrence, and the 81st percentile in rim protection and rim disruption.
The Pistons' decision to extend Thompson's contract highlights their commitment to building around him as a key piece of their young core. However, the deal could prove risky if Thompson's offensive game does not develop further.
The Pistons are still negotiating with restricted free agent Jalen Duren, and the outcome of those talks could impact the team's salary cap situation and overall roster construction.
Detroit's front office seems confident in the deal, despite the potential risks, as they continue to build around young talent like Cade Cunningham and Thompson.
What this adds
The Pistons' decision to extend Thompson's contract comes two weeks after his twin brother, Amen, signed a five-year, $208 million deal with the Houston Rockets, making them the first pair of brothers in NBA history to each receive a $100 million deal.
What's confirmed
- According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Pistons and Thompson agreed to a five-year, $155 million, fully guaranteed contract.
What's still developing
- Thompson's twin brother, Amen, previously signed a $208 million contract extension with the Houston Rockets.
- The Pistons currently have $183.4 million in total salary cap allocations for 2026-27, per Spotrac.
- Beyond seeing the team become a contender again, fans in Detroit have reveled in watching a brand of basketball that mirrors the franchise's two most successful periods.
- The "Bad Boys" era from the late 1980s to the early 1990s and then the run of six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances from 2003-08 were fueled by a physical style that ground down the Pistons' opponents.
- “Just in: Detroit Pistons All-Defensive forward Ausar Thompson has reached agreement on a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale contract extension, sources tell ESPN,” Charania wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
- “Thompson will get a new five-year extension with the Pistons that will very likely be for less than his brother gets in Houston. The 2025-26 steals champion and All-Defensive wing will get a contract comparable to what Detroit has been looking to sign Duren to — something in the $30 million to $35 million annual average value range,” Siegel wrote on Aug. 6.
- With star Ausar Thompson eligible for a contract extension with the Pistons, the latest news reveals that it has been done.
- Thompson was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season, the first Pistons player since Ben Wallace in 2006 😳 pic.twitter.com/25NUoUD6TU This deal comes two weeks after Thompson's twin brother, Amen of the Houston Rockets, got a five-year, $208 million deal, as the two are the “ first pair of brothers in NBA history to each receive a $100 million deal,” via Charania.
- The Pistons had the right to sign him to a new contract before the start of the season, and they seemed very eager to get a deal done.
- But Duren's wasn't the only contract negotiation the Pistons have been engaged in.
- Entering his fourth season in the league, Ausar Thompson was also eligible for an extension.
- The $31 million per year valuation may seem like a lot at first, but given the rising salary cap and where NBA contracts are at the moment, it is a fair price for a player of Thompson's caliber.