The Miami Heat reportedly are scouting University of Tennessee freshman forward Nate Ament.
“Nate Ament (Tennessee) is a college prospect being scouted (not surprising),” Heat insider Greg Sylvander wrote on Discord.
Ament has been projected as a top-five draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, as Bleacher Report recently mocked him at No. 5 while Tankathon and ESPN both slotted him at No. 4 in their latest player rankings for the draft class.
Ament is part of an elite freshman class that features players like A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson, who are also projected to be lottery picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Through two games in the 2025-26 season, Ament is averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game for the Volunteers. He’s shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc.
While the Heat are scouting Ament, they may not end up with a high enough pick in order to take him in the 2026 draft. Miami is off to a 6-4 start in the 2025-26 season, and it has played over. 500 basketball despite star big man Bam Adebayo missing time and star guard Tyler Herro sitting out the start of the season due to an injury.
If Miami did end up in the lottery, it would likely need some lottery luck to land a pick high enough to bring Ament to South Beach.
Ament’s start to the 2025-26 season is encouraging for his draft stock, but he has also faced some inferior competition. Tennessee opened the 2025-26 campaign with games against Mercer University and Northern Kentucky University. Both of those schools are mid-majors that don’t usually feature much – if any – NBA talent.
Still, Ament scored 18 and 23 points in the first two games of his collegiate career, and he will have a chance to build on his strong start on Wednesday when Tennessee takes on the University of North Florida.
As for the Heat, they’ll likely do their due diligence on several prospects, but the team’s focus this season is making the playoffs. Miami has been to the postseason in each of the last six seasons, and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra would love to keep that streak going in the 2025-26 campaign.