In the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, some analysts questioned whether Ausar Thompson's (and his brother Amen's, for that matter) production in the Overtime Elite league will translate to the NBA. After all, the Thompson twins were considerably older than the other players in that league, and they also had their fair share of struggles in shooting the ball. Nevertheless, these concerns didn't deter the Detroit Pistons from using the fifth overall pick of the draft on Ausar one pick after the Houston Rockets took Amen.

While the Rockets have struggled to give Amen much playing time behind Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, and Dillon Brooks, the Pistons have had no such issues with Ausar. And Ausar has been quite the revelation. He has racked up steals and blocks like he's playing against his opponents on rookie difficulty, and his jaw-dropping athleticism has allowed him to achieve some numbers that aren't quite fathomable for a 20-year old, 6'7 rookie wing.

At the time of writing, Ausar Thompson is currently averaging 12.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 blocks; and among those nine rebounds per game, Thompson is hauling in an eye-popping 2.4 contested offensive rebounds per game, which ranks tied for fourth in the entire association, per NBA University.

What's baffling is that Thompson is the only non-power forward or center in the top 10 of that list; in fact, the Pistons rookie is averaging more contested offensive boards than the likes of Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Walker Kessler, and he's tied with the likes of Nikola Jokic and Clint Capela. On that leaderboard, Thompson is only trailing Mitchell Robinson (who is grabbing 5.0 contested offensive boards per game), Rudy Gobert, and Zion Williamson.

Thompson has been quite the marvel to begin his NBA career, showing that betting on talent in the draft process is always the most worthwhile gamble. Sure, the 20-year old wing hasn't shot the ball well at all for the Pistons; he's shooting an abysmal 17.4 percent from three, and he ranks ninth-worst in true shooting percentage among qualified players.

But the Pistons will definitely be well-pleased with how well-rounded Thompson's game has been in the other departments. Once he figures out the shooting part of the game, then the Pistons may have a bonafide two-way star in their midst.