Milwaukee just turned the page on the Giannis era. And on draft night, they turned right back to the same page that helped end it, selecting Nate Ament with the No. 13 pick in a move that just feels like the AJ Johnson selection all over again.
The Bucks don't need instant contributors, but they do need to hit on all of their picks. And for a franchise that went through AJ Johnson and Thon Maker and just lost Giannis Antetokounmpo, is this really the kind of risk they should be taking at this point in time?
Milwaukee was still blinded by upside in the 2026 NBA Draft
Ament's selection is yet another high-upside swing on a fluid 6-foot-10 wing with real tools. His potential to flourish equals the possibility he flounders, which is what has made him such a polarizing prospect. It's also the kind of pick Milwaukee's fanbase has seen before, and not in a good way. Johnson was a raw shooting guard with no track record of shooting the basketball, the exact opposite of what a contending team needed. One pick later, Washington took Kyshawn George, who is now thriving as a star in the league.
We know how that ended. The Bucks traded Johnson to Washington before he developed into anything meaningful. It was a whiff that, by some accounts, only eventually accelerated the end of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era.
Now, in a draft where the circumstances are completely different, with no championship pressure, a superstar-less squad now in full rebuild mode, and every reason to prioritize readiness, Milwaukee reaches for another project over a polished contributor sitting right in front of them with the 13th pick. These kinds of selections have become a signature of Jon Horst's leadership as of late.
But just like past Bucks selections, they passed on more obvious options. Just two picks after Ament was taken, Chicago took Dailyn Swain, for whom scouts draw comparisons to Herb Jones. He's a positionally-sized, defensively versatile wing with secondary creation ability, which is almost a perfect description of what the Bucks need to build around.
Dailyn Swain is not a star. He's something arguably more valuable for a rebuilding team: a certain, immediate, two-way contributor with room to grow. On the flipside, Ament is a higher risk but higher reward kind of player. The Bucks chose certainty by going with Miami instead of Boston for Giannis' trade destination. But it seems they're back to choosing risk.
Nate Ament can be the next great Milwaukee Buck if his development works out
Now this writer will be the first to say there's still every bit of possibility that Nate Ament works out. None of this is to say that project players are never worth it. Any Bucks fan who watched the thirteen years of Giannis Antetokounmpo would be totally remiss in saying that. At the 13th pick, Ament could absolutely be the steal of the draft years down the line of Taylor Jenkins and his staff can stay on top of his development.
This writer has advocated for the Bucks focusing on upside to accelerate their rebuild. That remains to be where the Bucks should position themselves going forward. But for a team that's so strapped for draft capital, the risks they take should be more calculated. And the truth is there were safer players on the board who still had a lot of upside.
If Ament works out, then the Bucks will have immediately found their next great superstar immediately after losing their last one. And the selection will be seen as a stroke of genius and yet another example of Jon Horst's gutsy risk appetite.
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