Tennessee F Nate Ament selected No. 13 in 2026 NBA Draft
By David Wasson
Published:
Former Tennessee freshman forward Nate Ament became an interesting footnote to the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster trade Tuesday night, as the Milwaukee Bucks used the No. 13 overall selection to take Ament in the 2026 NBA Draft.
In a quirk of NBA rules, the Miami Heat – who acquired Antetokounmpo late Monday night – actually made the selection because the trade won’t be fully executed until July 6. He joins a Bucks team that also picked up former Heat players Tyler Herro, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis.
Ament was a beast in his lone season as a Volunteer, scoring 16.7 points per game to go along with 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Still raw, Ament looks to fit in the NBA as a highly valuable prototype as a large, skilled perimeter forward with developing ball skills and shooting.
Milwaukee struggled to a 32-50 record in 2025-26, finishing third in the Central Division and missing the playoffs. The Bucks won the 2021 championship with Antetokounmpo as their star, but have won one playoff series (2022) since the championship and crashed out of the playoffs with three straight first-round exits before missing the playoffs entirely this past season.
Ament was the Bucks’ second pick in the first round Tuesday night, as Arizona guard Brayden Burries was taken with the No. 10 pick.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
