We already did a breakdown of Overtime Elite star Amen Thompson, but it’s now time to dissect the game of his identical twin brother, Ausar Thompson. The 6-foot-7, 208-pound wing naturally has some similarities to his brother, but Ausar reportedly has a one-inch advantage in wingspan. And while Ausar is a very good athlete, his brother has him beat by a lot in that regard — Amen just has a lot more burst than he does, both in speed and leaping ability. But Ausar makes up for most of that with a more refined skill set.

Nobody is going to confuse Ausar for a deadeye shooter, but his jumper is really coming along. Teams used to go under screens on Ausar, much like they do with Amen. However, that is no longer an option with Ausar. In the Overtime Elite playoffs, Ausar knocked down 38.5% of his triples, and he did so on 7.8 attempts per game. Ausar is now a comfortable catch-and-shoot player, and he has also flashed the ability to make shots off the dribble. He sports a nice high release, and the mechanics aren’t concerning whatsoever. Ausar also has great touch on his floaters, which serves as more proof that he’ll be a serviceable shooter in the NBA. Touch is a great indicator of shooting chops.

With Ausar looking the part of a decent professional shooter, the 20-year-old is one of the more intriguing wings in this draft. Ausar just has the potential to be a special off-ball player, as his athleticism and ability to handle the ball open up all sorts of possibilities for him. Not only is Ausar a guy that should be able to make jumpers in the NBA, but he should have no trouble attacking the basket. He’s a very smooth finisher around the rim and he has a real feel for changing speeds as a slasher. Ausar can speed up when it’s time to blow by you, or he can slow down when trying to lull you to sleep. That ability is tremendous when you also factor in his leaping ability.

Ausar is also a solid playmaker on the wing. He isn’t quite as good of a passer as Amen, who consistently makes pocket passes and has a sixth sense when it comes to spotting open shooters. But Ausar has good court vision and a genuine creativity to his game. And his size allows him to see over defenses and make plays when you least expect it. That makes it easy to envision a role for Ausar as a secondary or tertiary creator in the right offense. When you combine that with what he can do as a scorer, you’re looking at a player that doesn’t have many real flaws.

If there’s anything to worry about in Ausar’s offensive game, it’s that he can occasionally look lost when trying to beat his man in isolation situations. For that reason, he looks more like a second or third option offensively than an alpha. But given his tools, it isn’t outrageous to think he can evolve into more. Ausar has aleady made giant strides with his game within the framework of an Overtime Elite system that is largely unproven at this point. There’s no telling what he’ll do once he starts hammering out reps with NBA coaching staffs.

Defensively, Ausar has the potential to be great right from the jump. It’s hard to be an elite rookie defender in the NBA, but Ausar is already the type of guy that can go out and lock up an opposing team’s best player. Of course, that might change once he makes the jump from OTE to the NBA, but there’s no reason to believe Ausar won’t be a superb player on that end of the floor. Not only does he have all of the physical tools you need to be a great defender, but he also has remarkable instincts.

Ausar projects to be an excellent on-ball defender, with the size and foot speed required to guard multiple positions. He has also flashed the ability to be an effective weakside shot blocker, which gives him the potential to be a very good team defender. And while Ausar does need to add some weight to his frame, he has the functional strength required to size up and guard power forwards in a pinch.

Not a lot of people seem to want to say Ausar is a better prospect than Amen, but I firmly believe he is. He just has a certain polish that his brother lacks right now, and he is still an impressive enough athlete for there to be boat loads of untapped potential. Of course, it isn’t hard to envision Amen going before his brother, and it’s hard to blame a team for falling in love with his otherworldly athleticism. But Ausar feels somewhat underappreciated at this point, and a good case can be made that he’s the best wing prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft class.