While the NBA is set to crown a new league champion over the next few weeks, the Oklahoma City Thunder still owns the title of the reigning champions. And that’s exactly who hosted former Tennessee wing Nate Ament for a recent workout.
While speaking on Yahoo Sports’ The Kevin O’ Connor Show, Ament revealed that he had a workout with the Thunder during Oklahoma City’s Western Conference Finals series against the San Antonio Spurs.
“A lot of it was reading closeouts, understanding the game,” Ament said. “OKC specific. Like they already have their main creators, stuff like that, so being able to learn how to play off them. Quick decisions, one-two dribbles, shooting when there’s a short closeout, driving when it’s a hard closeout.”
Nate Ament worked out this week for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have the 12th and 17th picks and have been rumored to have interest in moving into the top 10. https://t.co/nYVX29gyYn pic.twitter.com/S6mjwmNu1L
Advertisement— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnor) May 29, 2026
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OKC’s two picks in the Top 17 picks make Ament a potential candidate for the franchise that just missed out on the NBA Finals on Saturday night. The former Tennessee wing has been tagged as a potential lottery pick with a decent range of availability, but recent mocks have been fairly consistent that he could wind up with the Milwaukee Bucks with the 10th overall pick.
If Ament slides past Milwaukee, though, perhaps the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the league’s most dominant young teams, could be in play for the former Volunteer. Or OKC could just outright trade up and into a spot to grab Ament.
During his freshman season at Tennessee, Ament averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 35 games. He proved to be a solid player early in the season, but he lacked some superstar moments. That was until SEC play, at least.
Starting with a blowout loss to Florida in early January, Ament’s offensive game began to solidify. That game, which took place on Jan. 10, was the start of a double-digit scoring streak that lasted through the SEC Tournament – aside from a late February game against Alabama, in which he only scored two points in 11 minutes after going down with a knee/ankle injury. As the SEC season progressed, Ament began to hunt his shot on the court. He was more assertive, more commanding, and more aggressive with his takes, whether it be from the perimeter or working to get to the foul line.
During a streak from Jan. 24 to Feb. 18, Ament went for 20+ points in six out of eight games, including 29 at Alabama, 28 against Ole Miss, 29 at Kentucky, and 29 against Oklahoma. And while he only scored 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting in the next game against Vanderbilt on Feb. 21, Ament had one of Tennessee’s most clutch late-game shots of the season to put the Vols over the top of their rivals in Nashville.
Tennessee has had 10 NBA Draft picks during the Rick Barnes era on Rocky Top, including five straight years. During that time, the Vols have had four first-round picks. By all accounts, Nate Ament will be the 11th overall draft pick and the fifth first-round pick of the Barnes era this June.
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo tags Nate Ament as the ninth-best prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft class.
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