Pistons' Thompson sits out loss to Magic despite being cleared

Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson was cleared to return but did not play in his team's 111-100 defeat by the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

Thompson has been working on his conditioning since the NBA's fitness-to-play panel cleared him to return to action in early November. The 21-year-old has been out since March with a blood clot issue, missing the final 19 contests of his rookie campaign and the entire 2024-25 season thus far.

The 2023 fifth overall pick averaged 8.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in his first year in the NBA.

Meanwhile, Pistons star Cade Cunningham was ruled out of Saturday's tilt due to a lower back injury.

Cunningham took a hard fall while driving to the rim late in the fourth quarter of Thursday's 123-121 overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets. He left the game and didn't return.

The Oklahoma State product leads Detroit in points (23.5), assists (8.9), and steals (0.9).

With Saturday's loss, the Pistons fell to 7-11 on the campaign.