Following the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery this week, a number of analysts have begun projecting the place Rwandan-American rising star Nate Ament may land when the NBA Draft takes place on June 23.
The NBA Draft Lottery determines the order wherein groups that missed the playoffs choose gamers within the draft. The upper a group picks, the higher its possibilities of securing one of many high prospects, making the lottery a key second for franchises seeking to strengthen their squads for the long run.
Ament, 19, who beforehand starred for the Tennessee Volunteers males's basketball, declared for the 2026 NBA Draft in April and is broadly seen as a possible lottery choose.
Reacting to the lottery outcomes, ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo was among the many first to share his projections for the proficient ahead. Woo believes Ament could possibly be chosen inside the highest 10, with the Milwaukee Bucks rising as a potential vacation spot.
“Milwaukee had only a 3.1% likelihood of transferring into the highest 4, requiring a state of affairs wherein each New Orleans' choose and its personal jumped within the lottery, which might have conveyed the more serious of the 2,” Woo acknowledged.
“The Bucks desperately want backcourt assist however needs to be pondering greatest accessible, contemplating the uncertainty across the group’s trajectory and with possession wanting readability on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future by draft night time. Whereas they don't management their very own picks over the following few seasons, they may nonetheless be working with an extended view in the event that they decide to half methods with their franchise participant.”
Woo additionally famous that Ament’s draft inventory has barely dipped in comparison with earlier projections.
“Whereas Ament's inventory has slipped from an early top-five projection, he had productive stretches this season inside a difficult group context and has room to assist himself in exercises,” Woo stated.
“Though scouts are break up on whether or not he has star potential or initiatives higher as a long-term supporting participant, there may be nonetheless loads of intrigue round Ament within the lottery. As a tall, expert participant with shot-making upside, Ament matches a participant archetype that groups usually like to gamble on. As Milwaukee considers a post-Antetokounmpo future, a flexible upside swing akin to Ament could possibly be a powerful match.”
Throughout his time with Tennessee, the two.1-meter ahead established himself as some of the productive freshmen in program historical past. Ament earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors six instances—twice as many as some other participant at school historical past—whereas his 584 factors ranked because the third-highest complete ever by a Tennessee freshman.
He completed second on the group in scoring, area targets made, three-pointers made, free-throw proportion, and blocked pictures. Ament additionally set freshman program information for made free throws and free-throw makes an attempt, incomes recognition on the SEC All-Freshman Group and the All-SEC Second Group.
