New Man on Campus: Nate Ament

Nate Ament is one of the most fascinating prospects for the 2026 NBA Draft, but we may need to look at the Tennessee freshman in a different way.

Death, taxes, and falling head over heels for 6’9” wings who can shoot: few things get evaluators more excited than a lanky wing who can space the floor and has a solid handle. It’s a combination of traits that sends the imagination reeling and kicks logic out of the conversation entirely. It’s a process that results in fans speculating on whether he could be the next Kevin Durant; spoiler, he never is. This year’s prospect who fits that billing as one of the more intriguing 2026 NBA Draft prospects is the new man on campus for the Tennessee Volunteers, Nate Ament.

The 6’9”, 190-pound wing was one of the last recruits to commit after a highly competitive recruitment cycle. Ament ended up as the #4 high school recruit, per ESPN, and is Tennessee’s highest-ranked recruit ever. The next closest were Kennedy Chandler (#10) in 2021 and Tobias Harris (#6) in 2010. Ament was a massive addition for the Volunteers.

The initial instinct with Ament is to imagine him as an on-ball or primary creator. He was by far the best player on his high school team and frequently operated in that role. It’s what we’ve seen, so it’s the easiest leap to make. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s feasible for him at all, at least not for quite some time.

There are plenty of good and exciting aspects to Ament’s game that I promise we’ll get to. We just have to start with properly framing him as a player, which unfortunately means homing in on his biggest weakness…pun intended. Even though Ament acted as a primary creator, very few of his on-ball reps were easy because of his physical limitations. Ament has a solid handle and nice jumper, but he physically can’t create any space.

The most obvious issue is Ament’s lack of strength. He doesn’t necessarily shy away from physicality, but he rarely moves defenders and can struggle to finish through contact. Thankfully, nearly every teenager ever has gotten stronger with age, and Tennessee has a pretty awesome strength and conditioning program. While this should hopefully be more of a short-term issue, it likely will persist throughout his freshman year. What’s more concerning, though, is Ament’s lack of burst. He doesn’t have a quick first step, doesn’t separate from defenders, struggles to turn the corner on drives, and hasn’t figured out how to change speeds.

Ament’s length allows him to get to certain spots and get shots off despite tight coverage, but his on-ball game looks like he’s perpetually stuck in first gear. The people who really hated Ace Bailey’s rim pressure last season are likely not going to have a great time.

Ament struggling this much to create space against high school defenders is highly concerning, especially if we’re talking about him as a potential Top 5 pick. That ability simply isn’t there yet. However, there are some encouraging signs moving forward.

Ament’s physical limitations will continue to plague him, but he’s already showing some fun counters. Despite not being the strongest guy on the floor, Ament does a good job of playing through contact. It was something that really stood out at Hoop Summit and improved throughout the season. Ament’s lack of separation guarantees that defenders will be able to get into him and play physically, and Ament is already showing that he can not only maintain his dribble but also keep his head up to read the floor in these situations.

On top of keeping his dribble alive through physicality, Ament showcased some fun, crafty footwork to create space in the midrange. Given his size and shooting capabilities, defenders are eager to contest his shots. Ament does a nice job of leveraging this to create cleaner looks with shot fakes and step-throughs. With more experience and physical development, there are some tremendously fun outcomes for Ament’s ability to create scoring opportunities with craft instead of physical dominance.

Ament continuing to improve at fighting through physical defense will be crucial if he wants to have any on-ball equity going forward. There’s the obvious value in terms of his scoring, but it also helps unlock his playmaking. Ament does a great job of mapping the floor, identifying defensive rotations, and finding open teammates. His long strides and improving footwork help him get paint touches, which naturally makes defenders uneasy and shifts their focus. From there, Ament is more than capable of finding open shooters and cutters.

Even though Ament has some terrific playmaking upside, the concern is whether he’ll ever be put in position for it to be a legitimate weapon. If Ament can’t consistently create on the ball, more disciplined defenders can stay home as they’ll happily live with him taking highly contested midrange pull-ups. Where Ament may have the best opportunity to unlock this, though, is more as an off-ball creator.

Thankfully, Ament is a highly encouraging shooter. He has deep range, a ton of confidence, and consistent mechanics. While he isn’t a fly off screens type of off-ball shooter, he is capable of knocking down movement threes and can be lethal spotting up. It’s in these situations where Ament will likely generate the bulk of his shooting gravity. By forcing defenders to close out hard, Ament can then generate on-ball creation opportunities by attacking closeouts and rotating defenses. Even though Ament may not be a stellar isolation creator, he can generate similar types of advantages if his offensive role is shifted more into being an off-ball wing.

With all of my concerns about his physical limitations, the initial assumption may be that Ament’s defense is rough. Again, he’ll need to get stronger, but I’m actually pretty optimistic and excited about his defense.

Defensively, Ament could take his game to a whole new level this season. For starters, Rick Barnes isn’t going to play guys who can’t or won’t defend. I don’t have that concern with Ament. If he continues to buy in on that end of the floor, he could be a menace. His length gives him immediate value as a help defender, but his on-ball defense gets me incredibly intrigued. He moves his feet well, isn’t afraid of contact, and can contest a ton of shots that guys his size simply can’t. As Ament continues to get stronger, his defensive capabilities should skyrocket.

When evaluating players, it’s important not to be too fixated on preconceived perceptions of guys. It’s important to acknowledge what a player can’t do. However, we still need to focus on what they can do well and what situations are best for them to unlock those strengths. Nate Ament is one of those players who may need a recalibration of who he is as a player by the general public. It would be awesome if he emerges as a dynamic on-ball creator this season, but we haven’t really seen that yet. The fact that he struggled to separate as much as he did against high schoolers tells me that it’ll be even more laborious in college, let alone the NBA. That doesn’t mean that he can’t be a valuable offensive contributor, though. Far from it. For the love of God, let’s not try to pretend that he’s the next Durant or Jayson Tatum or even Brandon Ingram. Instead, if we imagine Ament more as a 3-and-D type of wing with second side creation upside, his role, value, and impact get a lot more interesting.