Leading up to his rookie season, Milwaukee Bucks rookie Nate Ament has been compared to many good players, but one of the more intriguing is Andrew Wiggins. NBA.com's comparison between the two should excite the Bucks, considering Wiggins is a target they are rumored to have been chasing for several years now. They may have acquired their Plan B after previous failed attempts.
Bucks have eyed Wiggins for a while
Wiggins' name has come up in trade conversations surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks for years now. As recently as last July, NBA insiders Jake Fischer and Marc Stein (subscription required) reported that the team still had Wiggins on its radar. Of course, despite their persistence, Milwaukee has not gotten their hands on the forward, and it's now unlikely that they ever will.
It's easy to justify why they've been chasing him so hard over the years. Since losing P.J. Tucker in 2021, the Bucks have struggled to fill the void in his absence on the perimeter. Milwaukee needed someone like Wiggins to take on the toughest defensive assignments every night as Tucker did, which Wiggins would have done. It also helps that he was a stellar three-level scorer.
Nevertheless, with the Giannis Antetokounmpo era over, the Milwaukee Bucks will now look ahead. Rather than chasing Wiggins, they will turn to Ament, whom they hope can fill that role.
Ament has the tools to be a Wiggins variant
To be clear, Ament isn't a carbon copy of Wiggins. The former is four inches taller and has a little over 10 lbs of weight on the latter. However, even then, on the surface, it's easy to justify the comparison.
Both are smooth scorers when can put the ball in the hoop from all over the floor. Like Wiggins has done as he has aged, Ament must work on improving his perimeter shot to truly reach his potential, but in today's NBA, that's a manageable task. Defensively, Wiggins is a pest due to his length, which Ament boasts plenty of as well.
The primary question regarding Ament and his defensive ceiling is his build. Yes, he has the height and length, but how about the bulk? At this stage, he is on the slimmer side for his size, which could lead to bigger forwards picking on him. Still just 19 years old, Ament is nowhere near done growing, but how much he has left is the question here.
It will take time, as Ament is clearly a project player, but the Milwaukee Bucks have a player with an immesurable ceiling right now. The comparisons to Wiggins, a Rookie of the Year, All-Star, and one-time NBA Champion, should have the team dreaming big.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.
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