Los Angeles Clippers (2011–13) Thompkins announced that he would leave Georgia and forgo his senior season to enter the
2011 NBA draft on April 5, 2011. Thompkins was drafted with the 37th overall pick in the 2nd round of the
2011 NBA draft by the
Los Angeles Clippers. In his first season with the Clippers, he averaged 2.4 points and 1 rebound over 24 games played. In the summer of 2012, during the
NBA Summer League, he suffered a bone
bruise on his left knee, which sidelined him off the court for nearly two years, including the rehabilitation time. He was waived by the Clippers on March 14, 2013.
Nizhny Novgorod (2014–2015) On August 4, 2014, Thompkins signed a one-year deal with the Russian team
Nizhny Novgorod. From the start of the 2014–15 season, he saw a lot of trust from the team's
head coach,
Ainars Bagatskis, as he played at least 20 minutes per game, in both the
VTB United League and the
EuroLeague. On November 6, in a home game loss to
Anadolu Efes, he had 14 points and 10 rebounds, making his first EuroLeague
double-double. On November 21, against
Dinamo Sassari, he grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds, also scoring 13 points. On February 6, in a game against
Unicaja, he scored a season-high 27 points, and added 13 rebounds, to help his team win the first game in the EuroLeague Top 16. That was also his third straight EuroLeague game win which he scored more than 20 points. Nizhny Novgorod eventually finished its participation in the EuroLeague by finishing last in its Top 16 group, with 3 wins in 14 games. Over 23
EuroLeague games played, Thompkins averaged 14.5 points and a third best in the league 8.1 rebounds per game. Nizhny Novgorod ended the competition in the
VTB United League, after being eliminated by
CSKA Moscow, by a 3–0 series sweep in the league's playoff semifinal series.
Real Madrid (2015–2022) On August 26, 2015, Thompkins signed a one-year deal with the Spanish team
Real Madrid. On July 16, 2016, Thompkins signed a two-year contract extension with
Real Madrid. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the
2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating
Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the
final game with 85–80. Over 28 EuroLeague games, Thompkins averaged 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. On July 6, 2018, Thompkins re-signed a two-year deal with the Spanish team
Real Madrid. On March 12, 2020, Thompkins tested positive for
SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the
COVID-19 pandemic. He was the first professional basketball player in Europe to be diagnosed with the virus. On June 9, 2020, Thompkins signed a three-year extension with the team. On June 27, 2022, Thompkins officially parted ways with the club after seven seasons.
Zenit (2022–2023) On July 13, 2022, he has signed with
Zenit Saint Petersburg of the
VTB United League.
Crvena zvezda (2024) On February 7, 2024, Thompkins signed a contract with
Crvena zvezda of the
Basketball League of Serbia, the
Adriatic League and the
EuroLeague, and he won
Basketball League of Serbia and the
Adriatic League.
Formosa Dreamers (2025–present) On August 5, 2025, Thompkins signed with the
Formosa Dreamers of the
Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). ==Career statistics==