Bucks select Tennessee's Nate Ament with No. 13 pick obtained from Heat in Antetokounmpo deal

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jun 23, 2026

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MIAMI — Technically, the Miami Heat had a pick in Tuesday night’s first round of the NBA draft at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The reality was a quiet night for Pat Riley and the team’s front office a day after agreeing to the acquisition of Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Because the Antetokounmpo acquisition cannot be completed until the July 6 start of the NBA’s 2026-27 cap calendar, that had the league going through the charade of Tennessee forward Nate Ament being introduced by Commissioner Adam Silver as the Heat’s selection at No. 13. That included Ament posing for his draft-night photo sessions in a Heat cap.

Eventually. Ament will shift to Bucks colors in time for the Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

The Heat slotted into the No. 13 draft slot after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons and then holding their draft seed in the random-but-weighted lottery last month.

The Heat continued to scout the draft even when it became apparent that a prime chip in any bid for Antetokounmpo would include the No. 13 selection. The pick was one of three first-round picks sent to the Bucks, in the deal that also sent out first-round picks in 2031 and ’33, a 2030 first-round swap, a 2033 second-round pick and players Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis.

The deal for Antetokounmpo left the Heat without a selection in Tuesday night’s first round, but still in possession of the No. 41 pick in Wednesday night’s second round, when the draft resumes in Brooklyn.

Off the board when the Bucks utilized the Heat’s selection at No. 13 were, in order from the start of the draft, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson, Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr., Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr., Houston guard Kingston Flemings, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., Arizona guard Brayden Burries, Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg and Michigan center Aday Mara.

Still on the board after the selection of Ament at No. 13 were Washington forward Hannes Steinbach, Mexico forward Karim Lopez, Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson, Santa Clara guard Allen Graves, Alabama guard Labaron Philon, Houston forward Chris Cenac Jr., Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, Baylor guard Cameron Carr, Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance and Texas guard Dailyn Swain.

Tuesday marked the first time in five years the Heat did not exit the first round with a selection, after picking Nikola Jovic in 2022, Jaquez in 2023, Ware in 2024 and Jakucionis in 2024.

The Heat’s first-round pick in 2027 (protected 1-14) or 2028 (unprotected) will go to the Charlotte Hornets to complete the January 2024 trade for Terry Rozier.