2026 NBA Draft
Nate Ament
Scouting report workspace for notes, evaluation context, and final draft outlook.
Stats
PTS: 16.7 | REB: 6.3 | AST: 2.3 | STL: 1.0 | BLK: 0.6 | FG%: 39.9 | 3PT%: 33.3 | FT%: 79.0
Info
School: Tennessee | Class: Freshman | Position: F | Height: 6'10" | Weight: 207 | Wingspan: 7'1"
Strength
Ament brings a rare blend of size and perimeter skill, showing he can function as an off-ball shooter coming off screens. He has a good feel for attacking closeouts and consistently draws fouls at one of the highest rates in the country, thanks to his patience and timing. His length allows him to bother smaller guards defensively, and he generally holds up across multiple positions by either moving his feet or using his reach to clog driving lanes. Offensively, he's skilled enough to grab-and-go and create decent looks in the paint, and he flashes some passing feel that suggests room for growth. At the end of the season, he has developed himself to be the second most reliable ball handler in Tennessee, and it is this level of progression that has a lot of people still high on him even with his struggle this year.
Weakness
Physicality is his biggest issue right now. Against tougher, more physical teams like Houston and Syracuse, he struggled to finish through contact and often avoided it altogether. He doesn't have consistent self-creation ability and can't reliably generate offense against strong on-ball defenders. His lack of burst limits his ability to separate, and his ball-handling isn't developed enough to compensate. Defensively, he can drift into gaps and lose assignments, and on the offensive end, his shooting efficiency has dipped against higher-level competition. Strength, finishing, and playmaking all need meaningful development.
Outlook
Right now, the most realistic comparison is either Michael Porter Jr or Jalen Johnson depending on his playmaking progression and the team that he lands on to put the ball in his hand or not. To firmly enter the top-five conversation, he'll need to regain his shooting efficiency and show more self-creation against quality defenses. His switchability offers intrigue, but it's unclear how he'll hold up against NBA-caliber guards in space. Improvement in physicality, finishing, and decision-making will be the biggest swing factors in determining how high his ceiling ultimately is, but his progression from his time in high school to his playmaking progression in his single college season is very promising for what his future can be.