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Milwaukee Bucks Head coach Taylor Jenkins, left, grabs the shoulder of Bucks first round NBA pick Brayden Burries, right as Nate Ament looks on at a Boys and Girls club in Milwaukee Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Phelps\/AP Photo\/Jeffrey Phelps<\/p>\n
First round NBA draft picks of the Milwaukee Bucks, Nate Ament, second eft and Brayden Burries pose for photographs with Head coach Taylor Jenkins, left and General manager Jon Horst, right, at a Boys and Girls club in Milwaukee, Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Phelps\/AP Photo\/Jeffrey Phelps<\/p>\n
First round NBA draft picks of the Milwaukee Bucks, Nate Ament, left and Brayden Burries pose for photographs at a Boys and Girls club in Milwaukee, Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Phelps\/AP Photo\/Jeffrey Phelps<\/p>\n
First round NBA draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks, Nate Ament is introduced at a Boys and Girls club in Milwaukee, Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Phelps\/AP Photo\/Jeffrey Phelps<\/p>\n
First round NBA draft picks of the Milwaukee Bucks, Nate Ament, fifth from left and Brayden Burries pose for a photograph at a Boys and Girls club in Milwaukee, Thursday, June 25, 2026.<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Phelps\/AP Photo\/Jeffrey Phelps<\/p>\n
MILWAUKEE (AP) \u2014 Milwaukee Bucks lottery picks Brayden Burries and Nate Ament got their first bit of tough love from their new coach well before discovering they\u2019d be playing for him.<\/p>\n
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During their introductory news conference Thursday, Ament discussed a predraft meeting with Taylor Jenkins in which the new Bucks coach went over the Tennessee forward\u2019s five worst plays in college.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe did the same thing with me,\u201d said Burries, a 6-foot-4 guard from Arizona.<\/p>\n
Burries and Ament can look forward to many more of those types of sessions as the Bucks count on them to fill vital roles in their rebuilding process now that two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is heading out of town.<\/p>\n
Jenkins believes they\u2019re up for the challenge. Jenkins praised their competitiveness and unselfishness Thursday while noting that the 20-year-old Burries and 19-year-old Ament have plenty of untapped potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got room to grow,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cI\u2019m going to remind them of that. We can all get better, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Milwaukee\u2019s selections of Burries with the draft\u2019s 10th pick and Ament at No. 13 were the first moves the Bucks made after agreeing to trade Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat.<\/p>\n
The No. 13 pick that the Bucks used on Ament was part of the package they got in return. The Bucks also are getting Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel\u2019el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis, a first-round pick swap in 2030, first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and a 2033 second-rounder in exchange for Antetokounmpo and forward Bobby Portis.<\/p>\n
The progress of Burries and Ament is pivotal to the rebuilding process of a franchise that hasn\u2019t gotten much production from the draft since striking gold by taking Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in 2013.<\/p>\n
For example, the Bucks kept only two first-round picks beyond draft night from 2019-25 and used them on MarJon Beauchamp (2022) and A.J. Johnson (2024). Beauchamp couldn\u2019t get consistent minutes in 2 \u00bd seasons with the Bucks. Johnson was sent to Washington his rookie year as part of the Khris Middleton-Kyle Kuzma trade.<\/p>\n
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Burries and Ament are Milwaukee\u2019s first two top-15 selections since 2016, when they took Thon Maker at No. 10. These two picks are particularly important because the Bucks currently don\u2019t have any first-round selections in 2027 or 2029.<\/p>\n
The Bucks believe these two rookies are up to the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey fit as people,\u201d general manager Jon Horst said. \u201cI think you can see the synergy here already. There\u2019s a consistent theme in what we\u2019ve targeted \u2014 the competitiveness, the character, the IQ of an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
They nearly ended up playing together in college. Burries made an official visit to Tennessee during the recruiting process and said he liked Volunteers coach Rick Barnes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI just went back and I just thought Arizona was the place to be,\u201d Burries said. \u201cRight before I was going to commit, like the week before, Nate and his people were trying to contact us and see what we were thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burries has the type of game that could help him contribute immediately. He\u2019s a quality defender who averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists while helping Arizona reach its first Final Four in 25 years. He shot 39.1% from 3-point range.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I love about Brayden is his ability to impact on both sides of the floor,\u201d Jenkins said. \u201cThis guy wants to be a point of the attack defender. He wants to be a team defender. It\u2019s infections. He\u2019s got this calmness about him that you\u2019ll see, but when he gets into the lines of competition, this guy fires up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ament will need time to develop and add strength to his 6-10, 211-pound frame, but he might have the greater upside of the two lottery picks. He averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists, though he dealt with an ankle injury late in the season.<\/p>\n
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He\u2019s eager to get to work. Looking back on that predraft meeting with Jenkins, Ament believes he has a coach who will get the best out of him.<\/p>\n
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By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to surround myself with people who are basketball junkies and want to stay in the gym and want to get better every day,\u201d Ament said. \u201cI think I found that in coach Jenkins.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n