As the NBA season winds down, the talk and hype around the 2026 NBA Draft will only continue to heat up. Thirty of the Top 31 prospects that are available for the draft are all from the college ranks, which means that there will be plenty of familiarity for fans of both levels.
Tennessee Basketball has three prospects in the draft cycle this season, and all three are currently projected to be taken in the two-round event next month. Those three players are SF/PF Nate Ament, PG Ja’Kobi Gillespie, and C Felix Okpara.
ESPN released its list of the Top 100 NBA Draft prospects on Friday, with Ament, Gillespie, and Okpara all making the cut. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo has Ament as the No. 9 prospect in the class, Gillespie as the No. 44 prospect in the class, and Okpara as the No. 46 prospect in the draft class.
“Ament had some of the best wing measurements at the combine, with outstanding size for a perimeter player at 6-9½ barefoot with a 6-11½ wingspan,” Woo writes. “His inconsistent play and struggles with physicality have been polarizing for NBA teams, but the scarcity of skilled players with his dimensions makes him worth a long look in the lottery. Although Ament often left scouts wanting more this season, his comfort with the ball, fluidity at his size and flashes of shotmaking fit a valuable archetype and give him a strong developmental base.”
ESPN and CBS Sports both had Ament tagged as the No. 10 pick to the Milwaukee Bucks in recent mock drafts. Woo also says that the Nets at No. 7 are also potentially in play. The ESPN analyst does say that “finding the right fit will be imperative for (Ament’s) long-term growth.”
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While Ament is widely projected as a lottery pick in June, that’s not the case for Gillespie and Okpara. Both former Vols were projected as late second-round picks in early mock drafts across the landscape, but both improved their stocks with strong showings at the NBA Combine earlier this month in Chicago.
NBA draft analyst David Lee wrote during the combine that Gillespie was his favorite senior guard in the class and one of his picks to outperform his draft slot by a huge margin.
Okpara, on the other hand, was listed by ESPN as one of the standout players from the NBA Combine.
“Okpara has put together a positive predraft process, showing well enough at the Portsmouth Invitational last month to skip the G League combine and earn a spot at the NBA combine,” ESPN’s Jeremy Woo wrote. “Though not a flashy option at center, Okpara has solid mobility for his size (6-10 barefoot with a plus-4-inch wingspan), measured in the top five in standing reach (9-4). … He has helped his chances of hearing his name called in the second round as a depth option with a good physical profile for his position.”
ESPN’s most recent NBA mock draft had Ament going 10th to the Bucks, Okpara going 49th to the Nuggets, and Gillespie going 54th to the Warriors.
