Ausar Thompson on overcoming blood clot, Cade Cunningham’s All-NBA chances and J.B. Bickerstaff for COTY (EXCLUSIVE)
Despite his confidence as a lockdown defender, Detroit Pistons second-year forward Ausar Thompson remains intent to improve his defense by mastering game-plan coverages.
Despite his struggles as an outside shooter, Thompson stays disciplined with both his shooting workouts and his drive game in hopes to become a versatile scorer.
Through the mostly ups and occasional downs of the 2024-25 season, Thompson keeps perspective on something far more important. It involves how he overcame a blood clot injury that sidelined him in the final month of his rookie season through late November in the 2024-25 campaign.
“I didn’t know if I would be in this spot again,” Thompson told Sportskeeda. “So I’m just blessed to be in this spot.”
In that spot, Thompson has tried to make good use of what Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff calls “great basketball instincts.”
The Pistons (35-28) enter Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors (35-28) with Thompson showings significant improvement from his rookie season in points per game (9.8, 8.8) and shooting percentage (55.9%, 48.3%). Thompson also shared Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month honors for his positional versatility, strength and athleticism.
Plenty of that success traces back to how Thompson attacked training camp workouts before his return.
“There were days where you would watch him, and you were just exhausted just from a lung capacity standpoint,” Bickerstaff said. “But he always found a way to bounce back and keep fighting through it so that he could get himself back in great shape.”
Thompson spoke to Sportskeeda about his second NBA season, overcoming a blood clot, perspective on Victor Wembanyama’s recent ailment, his successes and shortcomings with shooting and defense as well as why teammate Cade Cunningham and Bickerstaff deserve some individual accolades this season.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.
What do you think has fueled the season you’ve had so far?
Thompson: “Just being more confident in what I’m doing and knowing how teams are going to guard me. I’m still trying to be more aggressive. I took a step back in that [against the Clippers]. So I have to get that and keep progressing.”
What have you noticed on how teams are trying to defend you?
Thompson: “Just back up. They want to let me shoot. I feel like they don’t think they can guard me if they step up. That’s how I like to view it. So I’m going to keep going. I’m going to shoot, but I’m going to keep going to the cup. But I’m going to get some shots up, for sure.”
To what you said about wanting to be more aggressive, what’s the key to that?
Thompson: “Just going into the game with an aggressive mindset. If they want to put a pigeon on me, then I have to tap the pigeon and abuse them. I have to get back to that. That’s what I was doing before.”
Do you view how they’re defending you as a sign that they’re afraid of your drive game, your athleticism and strength?
Thompson: “That’s how I view it (laughs). They probably view it and think it as they want to let me shoot. But I view it as they just can’t guard me.”
I saw you’ve done a lot of shooting work with Fred [Vinson]. What has the work entailed to become a better shooter?
Thompson: “I’m trying to shoot with more arc. I’m trying to stop misses from going left to right. I’m shooting it with confidence. We work on it every day. I feel like I’m getting better. I haven’t been shooting as many 3s recently, but I’m in it for the long run. Day-by-day, that’s what I’m doing.”
What do you think are the next steps with incorporating that with your drive game?
Thompson: “Shoot more 3s in games. Shoot more middies in games. Shoot more jumpers in games. And then we’ll see how far I’ve come. I want to do all of it. Shoot when I want to shoot. But still drive and know at the end of the day, when I get to the cup that’s what I do. No matter how good I get at shooting, I never want to lose who I am.”
How do you try to use your athleticism and strength as a weapon?
Thompson: “I just go out and try to hit people. I’m faster and stronger than a lot of people. So I can get off the floor fast. So if I miss my shot at the paint, I have a quick second jump and use that against people.”
JB wasn’t hired until the summer. But he was encouraged with your attitude and work ethic during your offseason workouts and at the beginning of the season as you rehabbed your injury. What was your approach with handling that adversity?
Thompson: “Once they told me I have what I have, I just wanted to get back on the court. That’s all I was thinking about for eight months. Once I was cleared actually to do activity, I was working progressively and building myself back up. I was working hard. I’m happy to see it. 12 months ago, I didn’t know if I would be in this spot again. So I’m just blessed to be in this spot. Anytime I’m on the court, I have to start giving it my all 100%.”
How do you remember processing the news initially?
Thompson: “I was just like, ‘Wow.’ They told me my season was over. It was a long time. It felt like forever. But then I got back on the court. So I couldn’t be happier.”
When did you start doing work?
Thompson: “I’ll be honest. I don’t really remember. People ask me that. I don’t really remember.”
Oh yeah I understand it can be all such a blur.
Thompson: “Right.”
Understood with that. But do you recall any notable turning points on when you started feeling encouraged with your recovery?
Thompson: “It was a weird situation. But there definitely were turning points. As we started conditioning more, I started feeling better, better and better. It’s just a lot of conditioning.”
What perspective can you give to Wemby considering he’s just had this injury, too?
Thompson: “Two people had it in the last three years before Wemby. So I feel like now they know about how to go about situations. I would hope and pray that his situation was quicker than mine was and what [Christian] Koloko’s was. I can’t wait to see him back on the court and do great things.”
You’ve said before you consider it important to be the best perimeter defender. Where do you think you are right now?
Thompson: “I want to be there, but I’m not there yet. I’m not there yet. I got to get better at game-plan coverages. Then I can be there. But I feel like I’m gifted on defense. I feel very confident one-on-one and in isolation and even on screens. But I just got to get better at coverages.”
What does improving with game-plan coverages entail?
Thompson: “If we’re going to keep someone on one side, keep them on that one side and don’t let them get to the other side. If I’m the low man, I got to step up earlier and get back. Once I start doing that on a consistent level, then I feel like I’ll be the best defender in the league. But I’m not there yet. I want to be there.
I have to be locked in on every play. I have to be disciplined and watch extra film. Just be locked in on every play and take everything a game at a time. If I take it a game at a time, then it’ll be like a playoff game. I have to keep that perspective.”
You and Isaiah [Stewart] have both won Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month. What have you done as a duo to shore up the defense?
Thompson: “We come out there every game knowing that we have to guard. I have to guard the best player and he has to protect the basket. If Stew had to guard the best player, he would do that, too. But he hasn’t had to as much. There are not as many bigs like that. But we come in every day knowing we have to lock up our matchup.”
What’s been your key to excel in individual defensive matchups?
Thompson: “Not wanting them to score. I feel like since I’ve played basketball, I’ve never wanted my man to score on me. It feels like I lost that possession, especially when it’s iso. It’s a little harder with all of the screens and gameplanning to try to get me off of people. But I never want my man to score on me. Never have and never will. I definitely take it personally.”
Knowing that Wemby is out the rest of the season, do you view the DPOY award as wide open?
Thompson: “I can’t win it. I hope my brother wins it. I didn’t play enough games.”
From what you’ve seen from him this season, how do you like his chances?
Thompson: “It’s like a big man’s award, isn’t it? Marcus Smart won it. But it seems like you have to be a center to win it. So maybe they got to do Jalen Williams’ idea and have a guard version and a big version. I feel like guards do a lot of work. Point of attack defenders do a lot of work. So when it gets to the time that they’re not even having consideration? Even Dyson Daniels, I thought he was going to win it. But I guess not.”
Where have you seen Cade take the biggest growth in this season as a leader and a player?
Thompson: “The biggest growth I would say is him reading games and knowing how to finish games. Last year, I felt like there were games where we would finish and, not even just him, but us as a whole, we would be up by about five [points] in the fourth quarter and we would lose. I feel like it’s very rare that has happened this year. So it's about him leading games and being able to finish games.”
What’s your case for Cade to make it on an All-NBA team this season?
Thompson: “He’s helped take a team from 14 wins to 35 with 20 games left in the season. He has been the leader of that. And with his stats, he’s almost averaging a triple double. He’s up there just behind [Nikola] Jokic. [Cunningham is fourth overall with eight triple doubles]. It’s mostly those two things. He brings it every night, and he doesn’t really miss games. I can’t remember the last time he missed a game. Wait, I actually do because that’s how little he actually misses games.”
You’ve credited JB for how he’s able to hold you all accountable, but also supporting you. How has he done that?
Thompson: “He talks to you about things at the right time. He does that. He gets on you when he sees we’re slacking. He won’t get on you if you bring the effort. That’s the thing about him. He just wants to see effort. He wants to see you compete every night. The times he gets on you is when we start the game and there is no effort, letting people do things and being undisciplined. That’s when he gets on us.”
For you personally, what do you think JB has helped you with the most?
Thompson: “He’s instilling confidence with me attacking people, going at the basket and being able to finish. He wants me to dunk on everybody. So it’s just about going to the basket and being aggressive.”
There’s a lot of other coaches that have done well and sparked a lot of improvement. But what’s your case for JB winning Coach of the Year?
Thompson: “It would be similar to Cade. We were 14-68 last year. We have 35 wins so far this year. We’ve been a top defense recently. I think we’re top 13 both on defense and offense (15th on defense, 12th on offense). Last year, we were at the bottom five both on defense and offense with similar weapons. With him changing the culture, that’s what makes him a Coach of the Year candidate.
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.