Photo By Cole Moore/Rocky Top Insider
Tennessee freshman wing Nate Ament projects as one of the top prospects in the NBA Draft pool this summer. He’s had high expectations since his high school recruitment, widely considered a Top 5 to Top 10 pick in the 2026 draft class. While Ament bounced around from that initial spot a bit after a good-but-not-elite start to the season, the freshman wing has been bouncing back with some outstanding performances for the Vols in SEC play. In Ament’s last four games, he’s averaged 24.5 points per game with Tennessee going 4-0 during that stretch.
There’s no doubt that Ament will be a lottery pick on the track that he’s currently on, but the question that’ll eventually be answered is when and where he lands.
Tankathon is a website that simulates the order of the draft based on NBA teams’ current standings and projections. It’s often used for NBA fanbases to get a rough idea of where their teams could land in the draft, based on lottery picks and season projections. Tankathon is more about the NBA teams’ positions as opposed to the player landing spots, but still has all the tools and information to give an idea on the future.
Tankathon’s player positions are static. For instance, Nate Ament is ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the class, so he’s always going to land with the ninth team in the simulation’s draft order. I simulated the NBA Draft order ten times on Tankathan, and here are the teams that Ament landed with as the ninth-overall prospect:
Attempt 1: Memphis Grizzlies
Attempt 2: Milwaukee Bucks
Attempt 3: Milwaukee Bucks
Attempt 4: Memphis Grizzlies
Attempt 5: Milwaukee Bucks
Attempt 6: Memphis Grizzlies
Attempt 7: Dallas Mavericks
Attempt 8: Memphis Grizzlies
Attempt 9: Dallas Mavericks
Attempt 10: Memphis Grizzlies
Note: It took 16 overall attempts to get a team that wasn’t Memphis, Milwaukee, or Dallas. That team ended up being the OKC Thunder via the Utah Jazz’s pick.
USA Today posted its most recent NBA mock draft on Jan. 29 with Ament projected to go 14th overall to the San Antonio Spurs. Additionally, ESPN’s latest NBA mock draft from Jan. 13 saw Ament going 7th overall to the Charlotte Hornets.
With Ament’s increased play and seemingly more comfortable role in recent weeks, his stock could be rising before the next batch of mock drafts come out. These two, and especially ESPN’s from mid-January, were before some of the monster games that Ament has produced, such as his 28-point showing against Ole Miss on Tuesday night in Knoxville.
Nate Ament is averaging 17.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 22 games for the Volunteers. He’s struck gold in recent weeks, though, averaging 22.1 PPG in his last seven games and 24.5 PPG in his last four games. Ament looks to have turned a corner and is playing much better offensive basketball as of late.
Tennessee fans have been itching for a Volunteer to land with the Grizzlies for quite some time now. Memphis did take Jahmai Mashack in the second round of the draft last season, but he hasn’t seen the court all too much during his rookie campaign. If the Grizzlies took Ament with their first pick in the draft, it would likely have the Volunteers fans across the state on board.