Top-five NBA Draft pick has been training in surprising place

Becoming a top-five pick in the NBA usually comes with a handful of perks. One of them is having a state-of-the-art facility for training. But as Detroit Pistons rookie Ausar Thompson awaits his first season in the league, he’s gone back to his roots in order to get his work in.

According to Thompson’s former trainer Luke Cooper, the Pistons youngster has recently resorted to working out at his local park in Florida. Cooper, who is the head trainer of Overtime Elite, revealed his exchange with Thompson in an interview with The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III.

“I texted [Thompson] a few days ago asking how workouts were going,” said Cooper, who was with Ausar Thompson for both years at Overtime Elite. “He’s like, ‘Well, I’m in Florida and my high school gym has been closed, so I’ve been going to the park to get my workouts in.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re a top-5 pick, in the middle of the summer, what do you mean you’re at the park?’ He said, ‘No, it’s fine. I got a park I always go to.’”

Considering the Florida heat can go up to 95 degrees in the summer, there are surely more comfortable spots for Thompson to go work out in.

Thompson’s dedication and no-fuss attitude isn’t surprising to Cooper. Both Ausar and his twin brother Amen immediately began training three-a-day workouts 5.5 times a week ever since their Overtime Elite season ended in March. Cooper said that the regiment was only meant to be five days, but the 0.5 was because Ausar would sneak in an extra workout on Sundays. Cooper would only find out after security would inform him about it after the fact.

Pistons fans can only imagine how terrifying Thompson would look if he was ever asked to play some pick-up games at the park.

Thompson was the fifth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was selected just one pick after his brother Amen, who was drafted by the Houston Rockets at pick No. 4. The Thompson twins are the second highest-drafted brothers in NBA history, just behind Lonzo and LaMelo Ball.