The NBA draft will be held June 23-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. A deadline for early entries to enter the NBA draft is Friday at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
Ahead of the early entry deadline, Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports released an updated NBA mock draft. He projects Tennessee freshman forward Nate Ament as the No. 18 overall pick in the first round to Charlotte.
"Tennessee fans are waiting for Ament to choose whether to return to college or head to the NBA," O'Connor said. "League front office executives tell me that his agency, LIFT Sports Management, is split on the decision because they believe that Ament could be the No. 1 pick in 2027. If Ament falls outside of the lottery, he’d be playing for less money this year and potentially hurting his future earnings. For financial reasons it may make sense to return, and more importantly, for his own development to get one more year to improve physically and progress his skills."
Ament appeared in 35 games, including 35 starts, for the Vols during the 2025-26 season. He averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee forward Nate Ament projected as top 20 NBA draft pick