Rwandan-American prospect Nate Ament of the College of Tennessee basketball crew went No.13 total within the 2026 NBA Draft. He was picked within the first spherical Tuesday night time by the Miami Warmth, together with his rights then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver introduced the 19-year-old's title at 9:31 pm ET (3:31 am Kigali Time). at Barclays Heart in Brooklyn, New York, reside on ABC and ESPN.
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Ament, who was born in the US to a Rwandan mom and an American father, is the joint-sixth-highest draftee in Tennessee historical past and is this system's high draftee since 2002, when Marcus Haislip went No.13 total. He’s additionally the ninth top-15 choose for the Volunteers, in addition to the thirteenth within the first spherical and the seventeenth within the high 30.
The 58th participant drafted out of Tennessee, Ament is the second participant picked by the Miami Warmth, following Josh Richardson (No.40 in 2015). The Bucks, who will obtain Ament through commerce, have additionally beforehand picked two prior Volunteers, in Haislip and Ernie Grunfeld (No.11 in 1977).
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As well as, Ament is Tennessee's sixth one-and-done freshman chosen within the NBA Draft, together with the fifth in head coach Rick Barnes' tenure and the fourth to go within the first spherical. He’s the highest-drafted participant of that group, six spots forward of Tobias Harris, who went No.19 in 2011.
A local of Manassas, Virginia, Ament was the second participant chosen from a Southeastern Convention (SEC) faculty and the tenth freshman to come back off the board.
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Ament is the thirty sixth NBA Draft option to play for Barnes, who has had a complete of 48 of his gamers attain the NBA throughout his 39 years as a head coach. Including in his eight years as an assistant, Barnes has educated 55 future NBA gamers, together with 42 draftees.
Barnes, who additionally attended the NBA Draft 2026, has now produced 14 NBA gamers at Tennessee, together with 11 draft picks and 5 first-round alternatives. All of these have come within the final eight years (2019-26).
Ament dazzled in his lone season on Rocky High, averaging 16.7 factors, 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per sport. He scored 584 factors, the third-most by a Tennessee freshman, and began all 35 video games during which he appeared.
The two.08m (93 kg) earned Second Crew All-SEC accolades from each the media and the league's head coaches. An SEC All-Freshman Crew and NABC First Crew All-Central District honoree, he was considered one of 5 finalists for the Julius Erving Award and a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award.
That is the seventh time within the final eight years a minimum of one Volunteer has been picked within the NBA Draft, together with the sixth in a row. With the 2026 NBA Draft nonetheless incomplete, Tennessee will end as considered one of not more than 4 faculties to realize the previous feat and as considered one of not more than 5 to realize the latter.
