On Friday, January 12th, the Detroit Pistons hosted a Twin Night Takeover to celebrate the first-ever showdown between twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson in the Motor City.

After spending two seasons at Overtime Elite, the Thompson twins entered the 2023 NBA Draft and made history by becoming the first brothers to be selected in the top five of the same draft. Amen was selected fourth by the Houston Rockets. Meanwhile, Ausar was selected fifth by the Pistons.

To commemorate their first-ever matchup in Ausar’s new home, the Pistons wanted to pull out all the stops. You see, theme nights are not atypical among NBA organizations throughout the regular season. But the way the Pistons (and Rockets – more on this in a moment) orchestrated Twin Night Takeover was borderline unprecedented.

“We really wanted to do something big. It started out with just a bobblehead, but then it quickly developed into an all-game twin takeover,” Marissa Rickman, Director of Brand & Marketing Strategies for the Detroit Pistons, told me in an exclusive interview. “We had twin anthem singers (Jaida and Jessica Turner), twins doing entertainment skits during commercials, our classic Rev Up was done by twins, twin halftime performances, and we even have some twins in the organization. So, our social media during the game was run by our Social Media Coordinator, Tianna-Marie Rosser, and her twin sister, Taylor Rosser.”

Along with all that, the Pistons gave out one-of-a-kind Thompson twin bobbleheads (presented by Bally Sports) to the first 5,000 fans who showed up at the arena. And they offered a special “Twin Night” ticket offer, which included the rare Thompson twin bobblehead and exclusive access to a post-game Q&A with Ausar and Amen.

Among the multitude of twin entertainers in attendance that night were the EvenOut twins – Niko and Marko, a pair of twin influencers based in London, Ontario, who specialize in comedy that plays on their identical appearance. In their own words, they “want to put people in the matrix” by making them think they are seeing things when they watch one twin do something they thought they saw them do a few minutes prior. When, in reality, it was just the other twin executing that act. In any event, the twin jokers were thoroughly satisfied with the Twin Night Takeover.

“This event is super cool. As two twins that work together, it’s cool seeing two twins be in the NBA together,” the two brothers told me in an interview. “As twins, we love to see other twins succeed in this life and unite together in one night. Things like this don’t happen too often. So, when it does, we like to be a part of that.”

Hundreds of pairs of twins were in attendance at Little Caesars Arena on Friday night, including identical twins Levi and Rewell Poblacion and their identical twin nephews (who accompanied them to the game), Bryce and Lucas Fazekas.

“My brother, Rewell, and I are the first generation of twins. Then, my sister went on to have twins – Bryce and Lucas Fazekas. So, being a twin is a big thing in our family and a big part of our identity,” Levi Poblacion told me shortly after the game.

“They say twins are supposed to skip a generation. So, to have a sister have twins was almost like a miracle. And on top of that, we even have cousins who are twins.”

Funny enough, Rewell actually said he feels sorry for the Thompson twins because they have to compete against each other. As avid basketball players, Rewell told me that he and Levi hate playing against each other.

“I kind of feel for Amen and Ausar having to play against each other. My brother and I love basketball. And when we play, we always want to be on the same team. I don’t know how it is for the Thompson brothers. But we never want to go against each other. We always want to be on the same team. If we’re on opposite teams, we avoid guarding each other as much as possible.”

Bryce, one of Levi and Rewell’s twin nephews, noticed a lot of parallels between his relationship with his twin brother Bryce and that which exists between the Thompson twins.

“They seem pretty similar to Lucas and me,” Bryce Fazekas told me. “Like us, they seem really competitive. Brothers are always competitive. But twin brothers are especially competitive because they are constantly always grouped together and compared to each other.”

It seems like all the guests that Twin Night Takeover drew in enjoyed their stay. But what about the men of the hour?

After catching up with Ausar post-game, it seems that the Thompson twins loved the event as much as their twin comrades did. During our conversation, Ausar mentioned that his favorite part was the Q&A.

“People asked us a lot of interesting questions during the Q&A,” Ausar told me in an exclusive interview. “It really gave Amen and me the chance to show our sense of humor.”

“It was cool seeing all those twins out there. But it was also a little weird. It was almost like we were in a twin cult,” Ausar joked. “But overall, it was very cool. I love my fellow twins.”

The event gave the brothers, who see each other way less now that they are playing on different teams, some much-needed time to catch up.

“Every time I see him, it’s weird because we FaceTime each other so much now. So, when I do see him in person, it is kind of odd because I’m so used to seeing him through a screen,” Ausar laughed. But it is always great to reconnect with him in person, even if it is brief. In Houston, it was a little longer because we stayed there the night. But unfortunately, the Rockets had to leave right after this game.”

Ausar mentioned that while their conversations on the phone sometimes pertain to basketball, they often revolve around “the dumbest things.” He also said that his bobblehead was the cooler of the two and that he’s put on more muscle since they got drafted into the NBA. However, Ausar did concede that Amen currently has more drip in terms of his on-court accessories (Ausar cited Amen’s calf sleeve as the reason why).

Overall, Twin Night Takeover in Detroit was an outstanding success. But as we alluded to earlier, this theme night wasn’t a one-hit wonder. It was a joint effort between the Pistons and the Rockets.

As is the case with all great twin pairings, Twin Night Takeover was two of a kind. Everything that we discussed about what happened in Detroit on January 12th also happened in Houston when the two teams played there on January 1st. As Rickman explained to me, this sort of cross-team collaboration is a rarity. In fact, it may be the first time the league has ever had anything like this.

“When we brought Ausar to the team and Houston drafted Amen, we had this unique opportunity to do something really special,” Rickman explained. “So, we connected with the Rockets over the summer and talked about if we would both be willing to do the cross-league theme night – something that has never really been done before. We were both on board. So, we hit the ground running.”

“Typically, from the brand marketing side, we don’t have a lot of communication with other teams as they are coming in and out of the city. Sometimes, you will have group nights where players from opposing teams have a meet and greet with fans. But other than that, it’s very rare that the marketing sector of teams works together like this. I’m personally not sure that it’s ever happened.”

So, those who were in attendance on January 1st or January 12th (or both games) may have witnessed history in the making. But it only makes sense that it was done this way, since the NBA has never seen anything like the Thompson twins.