‘Takes a Village’: Ex-NBA Star Tristan Thompson Picking Up the Pieces After Khloe Kardashion Stepped Up to Help His 19-Year-Old Special-Needs Brother
Former Cleveland Cavaliers player Tristan Thompson wants to officially take on the responsibility of supervising the affairs of his 19-year-old younger brother.
Tristan and Amari’s mother, Andrea Thompson, died suddenly in January 2023 from a heart attack. In 2024, the Los Angeles County Superior Court granted the Ontario-born athlete legal guardianship of his sibling after Andrea passed away in Canada.
Two years later, Tristan now wants a court-ordered arrangement to oversee Amari’s medical care, financial management, educational decisions, and other daily life tasks due to his cognitive impairment.
According to new reports, Thompson, 35, filed for a limited conservatorship over Amari Thompson on April 27.
The 2016 NBA champion claimed to be Amari’s closest living relative, considering their father, Trevor Thompson, is no longer in the teenager’s life.
Tristan’s latest legal filings claim Amari “suffers from an intellectual disability and developmental delay and is unable to take care of his personal needs.”
It also stated that he needs his older brother to “take care of his personal needs.”
Amari reportedly “does not object to the proposed conservator” and “does not wish to contest the establishment of a conservatorship.” Apparently, Amari also has epilepsy and other medical conditions that require essential assistance.
“Amari is fully disabled, so he doesn’t talk or walk on his own, so everything is assisted,” Thompson explained to People in June 2025.
On Amari’s two full-time caregivers at the time, Tristdan said, “They’ve been a blessing and angels in disguise, especially with my mom passing away, being able to meet two amazing human beings that really helped me with this journey.
“Because you need a village. When you have family members that go through stuff, it doesn’t take one person. You need a village to help build everyone up and pick everyone up because some days are tougher than others. So I’ve been very fortunate with that,” he added.
Tristan’s ex-girlfriend, 41-year-old reality television star Khloé Kardashian, is part of that village of people who have helped support Amari throughout his life.
He and Khloe’s on-again, off-again relationship lasted for about five years from 2016 to 2021. They share two children together, a daughter named True Thompson (born in April 2018) and a son named Tatum Thompson (born via surrogate in July 2022).
Kardashian has also been open about looking after Amari while Tristan was often traveling with the Cleveland Cavaliers, even after their relationship had ended. Amari
“When Tristan’s mom passed away a few years ago, we took Amari back with us to the States,” the socialite and businesswoman revealed in a July 2025 episode of her “Khloé in Wonder Land” podcast.
She continued, “Tristan is in the NBA. He is in a different state literally, every other day, and it’s just not conducive for Amari to be on that many planes,” before adding, “So Amari stays in L.A. with me, and I have chosen to take care of him. And I just love having Amari be a part of my family.”
Despite stepping up to be a protector for his younger brother, news of Tristan seeking to take on the role of conservator for Amari led to varying opinions from both positive thinkers and naysayers.
Thompson’s complicated personal history plays a role in how the general public still perceives him. Headlines about infidelity accusations, paternity lawsuits, and NBA drug policy violations have painted a picture of the current free agent as reckless and irresponsible in the eyes of many fans.
One person on the People website commented, “Prayers for Amari! I feel bad for anyone counting on Tristan Thompson to care [for] them. Putting others first is not in his wheelhouse.”
“Khloe Kardashian is the one who has been caring for him and providing aides for him. This guy is a joke,” declared another critical person in the celebrity news outlet’s comment section.
However, not all of the online reactions to Thompson’s conservatorship request were disparaging. One fan wished for divine protection by expressing, “God bless you, Tristan, and your brother and family too!”
One comment read, “What a good, stand-up man. So thankful he has a great support system.” Yet another person exclaimed, “As someone else stated, it takes a village!”
Attention was placed back on Amari when one individual articulated.
“He’s surrounded by people who love him and get quality care [because] people in his life have the means… What a blessing. His mother would be so grateful, as I’m almost certain she always worried about what would happen to him after she was no longer here.”
The mixed reactions on the internet will not have any bearing on the next chapter in the lives of Tristan and Amari. A judge will rule on whether the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft has the capacity to be accountable for his younger brother.