Allen Iverson’s crossover was mesmerizing, even fooling Michael Jordan. Dwayne Wade knows a thing or two about those moves, as he idolized AI. Now, during the Pistons-Cavaliers series, known for his defensive abilities, Ausar Thompson still produced an AI-like move, although the refs were quick to issue him a flagrant for it.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had the ball and were trailing by 12 with 8:04 remaining before halftime. Sam Merrill was holding his screen, but Ausar Thompson took exception and pushed him from the neck area. Then looked at the Cavs star who was down on the floor and then stepped over him. Instantly, D-Wade was reminded of the iconic move from his idol. “I like that right there, ‘Get off me’,” said Wade on air.

“Listen, I love the shove right there. Okay, if you’re on the sideline, we love that foul. Now, it’s the other fouls that he gets throughout the game, sometimes that is a little mindless, that you won’t need him on the floor. But that one, we’re taking that one. The Iverson stepover.” Candace Parker, his co-analyst, even said, “Shoutout to Allen Iverson out there.” While Dwyane Wade and Parker loved the stepover, the fans didn’t.

Cavaliers fans were flipping their fingers and chanting, ‘Throw him out’, as the review was underway. After the review, the refs pointed out, “The left arm of Thompson makes contact with the neck of Merrill. There is impact and follow-through on this play. It’s been upgraded to a flagrant foul penalty one.” Even though it was a foul, D-Wade did not mind this energy from the Pistons star. It was directly related to the competitive energy that Allen Iverson had when he did this move back in the 2001 Finals.

It was in overtime of Game 1 as AI, through his crossover, put the Lakers guard Ty Lue to the ground and made the bucket. After drilling the shot, Iverson stared at — while stepping over — a seated Lue in front of the Lakers’ bench. This still remains one of the iconic moments in NBA history. Now, the Clippers head coach, Lue, even said that the memory rushes back whenever he faces the 76ers. “Every single time. You never forget it”. While Iverson walked away with absolute swagger and no whistles, Thompson was hit with a Flagrant 1 foul for the contact to Merrill’s upper body.

Ausar Thompson creates history despite fouling out

Tonight, he had 10 points (4-6 shooting & 2-3 from the FT line), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals & fouled out in 24 minutes. Some of them were mindless fouls, which D-Wade hinted at before. Still, the 23-year-old left an immense impact on this game and his overall output throughout the playoffs. According to stathead, Ausar Thompson has 28 steals and 23 blocks through 13 playoff games. Statsmuse also confirmed that the Detroit Pistons star is the 3rd fastest player in NBA playoff history to reach 35+ STL & 25+ BLK. Behind only Ben Wallace and Michael Jordan.

One of his blocks tonight was a volleyball spike block. Not to mention that he has been elite defensively, but his motor on the offensive boards has been just as impactful this game, as he had 9 rebounds tonight. He is the only player with 50 stocks this postseason. Another stat reveals that Ausar Thompson is currently leading the postseason in total steals and offensive rebounds. If he makes the record, he’d be the first player to lead a postseason in both categories since fellow Piston Ben Wallace (’05 & ’04).

Thompson has been a defensive menace, and that’s why the Cavs fans were celebrating him fouling out. Yet, it was the Pistons that won comfortably 115-94 as the series heads to the decider Game 7.