Technically, the Detroit Pistons ended their game. But Ausar Thompson kept working. Over an hour following a recent loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Thompson sat by his locker stall and watched game footage on his phone.

Technically, the Pistons ended a morning shootaround. But Thompson kept working again. For over 30 minutes, he worked on his shot from beyond the arc, in the post and at the free-throw line.

Technically, the Pistons ended another game. But Thompson, you guessed it, kept working. Following the Pistons’ 128-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Thompson worked out in the team’s makeshift weight room.

“He’s one of those guys that does so much homework for each individual matchup,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “You can tell it pays off for him.”

It sure has. The Pistons (25-8) have the Eastern Conference’s best record for reasons beyond point guard Cade Cunningham inserting himself into the early regular-season MVP conversation. It largely has to do with the 22-year-old Thompson, who has averaged career-highs in points (11.7), rebounds (6.0) and assists (2.6) while also primarily defending the opponent’s best player.

Thompson has excelled in mastering that job description because, as Bickerstaff puts it, he has become “a student of the game” who constantly sharpens his craft with film study and post-practice workouts.

Thompson spoke to EssentiallySports about the Pistons’ strong start, his various preparations and his outlook on making an All-Defensive team. He also dished on Cunningham’s early MVP candidacy, what he learned from Detroit’s first-round playoff loss against the New York Knicks and recently defending Lakers star Luka Dončić.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed.

You all are first in the East. But how do you evaluate everything so far?

Thompson: “We’ve been playing hard. That’s got us to where we are right now. But we got to lock back in and just know that we haven’t done anything yet. We’re not even halfway into the season. We have over 50 more games. We got to be even better in those next 50 games.”

How do you all get even better?

Thompson: “Being the best defensive team in the league and coming with energy every night and not let the team get a jump on us early.”

How do you evaluate your own play?

Thompson: “I’m being more aggressive. For the next 50 games, I want to be even more aggressive and just have that mindset on offense and defense.”

You had talked about wanting to do that, but not forcing shots. How have you figured out when is the right time to be aggressive and when the right time is not to force the issue?

Thompson: “It’s definitely a process. You still have to have an aggressive mindset. You got to know how to play basketball the right way and not force shots. Being aggressive doesn’t always mean shooting the ball. Sometimes it means just touching the paint or getting shots for one of your teammates. When I think of aggressive, that’s more of what I mean. It’s about getting paint touches and making my man guard me. I’m not necessarily thinking about the amount of shots I take.”

I see you’ve worked a lot on your shooting. What has that looked like?

Thompson: “Working on my arc and working on my consistency and confidence. I’m trying not to be so stiff when I’m shooting it, but being loose and relaxed like all the best shooters are. That’s been my main process.”

You’re working on a variety of shots with 3s, free throws and in the post. What strides do you think you’re making in those areas?

Thompson: “It’s helping me out so far. Right now, it’s just about knowing when to take those shots, trying to get to those shots and trying to get to my spots and tear apart the defense. To score a couple of times when the play slows down in the shot clock. I’ll take those. Fast breaks are a time not to take jump shots, but go to the rim.”

You said that your first fully healthy offseason allowed you to work on your ball handling, shooting and defense. What was the stuff you did in those areas?

Thompson: “JB starts every practice with that (laughs). It’s 20 minutes of that in each practice. So when you think of individual work and getting into a bag, you can do that after you do your 20 minutes of sliding and closing out and being in the right help spot. So defensively, it was all about that. Offensively, I was working on my finishing with getting to the cup and getting to the paint, as well as middie pull-ups. That’s kind of how it goes.”

What effect did that work have on you both physically and mentally, considering you didn’t have to worry about rehab like the previous summer?

Thompson: “Conditioning-wise, I got a lot better from the season before. Last season, I had to get in shape during the season. This season, I came in shape. I feel like that’s the biggest thing. I’m able to do more on defense. I can get more rebounds and not take any plays off.”

JB also said you watch a lot of film. After the Clippers’ loss, I saw you watching game footage by your locker. Before the Lakers win, you were watching film with coaches after your pre-game workout. What things are you studying?

Thompson: “See where I screwed up and see where I did well. I’m trying to maximize my time on the court. So I’m seeing the reasons why I came out. I’m seeing the reasons what I did well when I stay in the game. When my man scores on me, I help. When he doesn’t, I stand.”

What tendencies do you study for your opponents?

Thompson: “I study which way they go. If they go left, do they get to jumpers? If they go right, do they get to foul-baiting? I feel like the best players stick to what they do. They’re not going to stray too far of it. So you find out how to exploit the rules a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s what they do. You got to be ready for it.”

Defensively, Cade [Cunningham] observed you’ve improved with not fouling as much. What has gone into that?

Thompson: (laughs) “Just learning how the refs call the game, especially for certain players. You got to know that with certain players, you might get a different whistle, and you can’t guard them a certain way. You just got to be aggressive, but also know when to pick your time to be aggressive. Know when your opponent is going to foul bait. You can kind of read when the person is going to foul bait because they work on that a lot.”

What did you learn during the playoffs with all of that?

Thompson: “You can’t foul. You got to pick your spots. You got to know where the refs are at.”

How about tonight with Luka [Dončić]? When you defended him, you were trying to use verticality and positioning without reaching. But you still got four fouls. What did you make of that?

Thompson: “You just got to know when you play certain teams, they have a certain reputation. You just have to keep your head up high. If you foul on one play, you try to learn from your mistake and then do better on the next one. That’s how I go about it.”

How are you able to think that way?

Thompson: “I know that the guys that are coming in after me are going to have my back and lock up the person that I was trying to lock up.”

How do you compare Cade’s play this season to last season?

Thompson: “He plays a lot better on defense. He’s committed to the defensive side a lot. I feel like that’s helped us be one of the top defensive teams.”

What does he do better defensively?

Thompson: “He’s taking the challenge with guarding sometimes the best player or the second-best player.”

What else has he shown you that you think he should have early consideration for MVP?

Thompson: “The way he leads this team every day and the way he carries us. He helps us get wins. He’s a great player. And he leads us. That’s my MVP-take on Cade.”

What do you make of Jalen Duren’s growth this season?

Thompson: “Jalen Duren is an All-Star. Jalen is playing aggressively. Honestly, there’s not a big that really wants to mess with him right now. The one that’s close are the two backups on our team. That’s it.”

What’s your outlook on getting on an All-Defensive team this season?

Thompson: “I think I’m doing an all-right job. But I think I can do better while I’m out there. I can get my defensive rating down a little bit. There has been some slack in the last three or four games. So I have to slide back in and do what I can to stay on the court. The whole bench squad is playing like All-First team defense.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for EssentiallySports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.