Where Nate Ament is projected in ESPN's updated NBA mock draft after lottery

The NBA Draft lottery on Sunday didn’t change ESPN’s NBA Draft projection for Tennessee basketball freshman wing Nate Ament. 

ESPN’s Jeremy Woo still has Ament as the No. 10 overall pick, which now belongs to the Milwaukee Bucks. Woo’s previous mock draft also had Ament at No. 10 to Milwaukee. 

“While Ament’s stock has slipped from an early top-five projection,” Woo wrote, “he had productive stretches this season within a tricky team context and has room to help himself in workouts. Although scouts are split on whether he has star potential or projects better as a long-term supporting player, there is still plenty of intrigue around the opportunity to select a prospect of his caliber later in the lottery. 

“As a tall skill player with shot-making upside, Ament fits a player archetype that teams often love to swing on. As Milwaukee considers a post-Giannis future, a malleable upside swing like Ament could be a fit.”

ESPN projects Felix Okpara to be the No. 54 overall pick to the Golden State Warriors, up from the No. 60 pick in the previous update. Ja’Kobi Gillespie is now projected at No. 60 to the Washington Wizards after being the No. 57 pick in the previous mock draft.

The Wizards won the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, ahead of the Utah Jazz at No. 2, Memphis Grizzlies at No. 3 and Chicago Bulls at No. 4. The Los Angeles Clippers have the No. 5 pick. 

BYU’s AJ Dybantsa projected to be the No. 1 overall pick

ESPN has BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa as the No. 1 pick to the Wizards, ahead of Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson to the Utah Jazz at No. 2 and Duke freshman Cameron Boozer at No. 3 to the Grizzlies. North Carolina freshman forward Caleb Wilson is projected at No. 4 to the Bulls and Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler is at No. 5 to the Clippers.

Also ahead of Ament in the ESPN mock draft are Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. (No. 6, Brooklyn Nets), Houston freshman point guard Kingston Flemings (No. 7, Sacramento Kings), Louisville freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 8, Atlanta Hawks) and Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries (No. 9, Dallas Mavericks).

Other teams picking in the lottery are the Golden State Warriors at No. 11, Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 12, Miami Heat at No. 13 and the Charlotte Hornets at No. 14.

Ament averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 35 games during his freshman season at Tennessee, despite knee and ankle injuries suffered in late February derailing his late-season run. He started in all 35 games he played and averaged 29.7 minutes per game while shooting 39.9% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line.  

What Nate Ament said about entering the NBA Draft

Ament announced his decision to enter the NBA Draft in a post on social media on April 23:

“I want to dedicate this post to my Vol family. Your guys love and support is a huge reason I have this opportunity. It’s because of you guys that I was able to grow. Ya’ll stuck with me through the bad games and the good. I promise to always represent the Vols with the upmost pride. This University means more to me than just basketball — to me it’s a place I call home. I might’ve only been here a year but I’ll remember this year for the rest of my life. 

“This wouldn’t be possible without my family, teammates, coaching staff, and our managers. These guys challenged me to be a better player and man. They’ve put me in a position to live out a dream. This is just the beginning.”