Nate Ament is one of the most polarizing prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft class and a player who has crossed the Bucks’ radar. An exciting jumbo wing with tough shot-making abilities, Ament was ranked as high as fourth on way-too-early mock drafts before plummeting with a rough start to the season at Tennessee. He’s the prototypical Jon Horst pick: a raw teenager with high upside, but likely needs some development before he can contribute to an NBA team.
The size is the most alluring part of Ament’s
profile. Ament stands at 6’10” barefoot while boasting a seven-foot wingspan. He weighs in at around 210 pounds, a 25-pound increase from his starting weight in the summer of 2025; he has exciting positional size as a jumbo wing. He has the agility and finesse to operate on the perimeter, making him a tricky matchup for defenses. Ament leverages this size in a number of exciting ways, like hoisting nearly unblockable jumpers from long range, drawing fouls because of his length, or creating physical mismatches coming off screens.
That positional versatility came to define Ament’s season at Rocky Top. Ament showed exciting point-forward qualities with the ball in his hands, whether that was creating his own shot in isolation or making quick reads in transition. On defense, Ament could guard either the SF or the PF, while occasionally switching onto and handling smaller, twitchier wings and guards.
Ament was also an exciting attacker while at Tennessee. After a rough start to the season with nationally televised flops against Houston, Illinois, and Texas, Ament flipped a switch during conference scheduling. During that stretch, he showed the full extent of his shotmaking abilities, which include lethality at the rim, in the midrange, and from three. He looked confident with his shot, muscling past beefier defenders one play and then firing 32-foot bombs the next. A confident 6’10” wing who can get to any spot on the floor with craft and comfortably shoot over virtually any defender is a player any NBA team would want on their franchise.
Leaning into his 6’10” frame will be necessary to make the jump from college ball to the league. Ament drew fouls easily in his freshman season, posting a .578 free throw rate. He did this by hunting and finishing through contact; he’s also a pretty solid free-throw shooter (79.0%). If his trait of getting to the charity stripe persists next season, he’ll have a pretty solid floor to fall on.
Ament should also be a decent defender at the next level. His wingspan allows him to frustrate defenders on-ball, and for his 6’10” frame, he gets around the court pretty well to contest rim attempts on the weak side. He also recorded an encouraging number of steals per game (1.0) and was an adequate shot-blocker.
The uglier parts of Ament’s game reared their head in the later parts of the season as Ament dealt with a leg/ankle injury. Ament lost his red-hot scoring streak and slumped to some really bad performances (1/13 against Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament, 2/12 against Michigan in the Elite Eight, etc) while also struggling with on-court mobility and general pain.
Ament is notoriously streaky. He logged .399/.333/.790 shooting splits, pointing to an inconsistent season highlighted by a lack of rhythm (and injury concerns). A lot of the skill that Ament’s ceiling promises is hypothetical; for every great read Ament showcased, he turned the ball over (1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio). For every mean stepback Ament dropped, there was an ugly attempt that missed by a mile. At his best, Ament is a black hole on offense who can attract double teams, score from his spots, and find open teammates; but at his worst, he’s passive, inefficient, and rushed in decision-making.
Ament also needs to focus on getting stronger. Even with his 5000-calorie-per-day diet in Tennessee, Ament remains very wiry compared to the physical bigs of the league. He struggled to impose his size on defenders, especially when getting to the rim. He finished with only 15 attempted dunks in the season.
Ament will stir up harsh memories of Zaccharie Risacher’s offensive struggles with the Hawks or Austin Daye in Detroit. However, he also has a very real chance to become one of the league’s premier shot-making combo forwards if he can beef up his skinny frame and become a more efficient shooter.
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