In less than a week, the 2026 NBA Draft will be held. This will feature the reshaping of the league in what is projected to be one of the deepest classes in recent history. Featured in the top group is Tennessee basketball star Nate Ament.
While Ament has been projected largely as a top-10 pick who is threatening the top-five, a recent mock draft has seen him take a considerable tumble. According to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo, he has Ament falling out of the lottery and all the way down to pick No. 15 to the Chicago Bulls.
“The Bulls worked out Ament earlier this month, according to league sources,” O’Connor wrote. “And though Chicago already has a number of tall, skilled forwards — Matas Buzelis, Josh Giddey, and Noa Essengue — there’s no harm in adding another one. Players who can handle, shoot off the dribble, and stand at 6-foot-10 don’t grow on trees. This physical foundation kept Ament in lottery consideration even after a dreadful start to his freshman season when he struggled to score efficiently and make an impact defensively. But over the second half of the year for Tennessee, he flipped a switch and shots began to fall…”
The 2026 NBA Draft is ONE week away and @KevinOConnor has his latest predictions ahead of all the action 🏀📝 pic.twitter.com/Ij00Gt5Ham
Advertisement— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 16, 2026
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This is a considerable change from O’Connor’s mock draft released just over a week ago. In that one, he had Ament all the way up at pick No. 6 to the Brooklyn Nets.
Ament showed his upside during the course of last season, though he did have to battle through injury heading into the postseason. The 6-foot-10 wing finished with 16.7 points per game on 39.9% shooting from the field and 33.3% from range. He also contributed 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.
In the full two-round mock draft, O’Connor has two other Vols being selected, as well. Point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is slotted at pick No. 47 to the Phoenix Suns, and forward Felix Okpara is placed at pick No. 49 to the Denver Nuggets.
