FlurrySports weighs the pros and cons of Nate Ament, Yaxel Lendeborg and Kingston Flemings when looking at possible Milwaukee Bucks draft prospects.
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Like every other offseason over the past few years, the main storyline surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks is whether or not Giannis Antetokounmpo will be traded. Regardless of how it ends up with him, the Bucks absolutely need to win with this draft pick. After years of bad draft picks that have been part of the reason the Bucks are in this position, there is a feeling of “now or never” for general manager Jon Horst.
In a loaded draft, the Milwaukee Bucks have a chance to land a great player later in the lottery. With names like Nate Ament, Yaxel Lendeborg and Kingston Flemings expected to be available, the Milwaukee Bucks draft pick is one of the more interesting picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Examining Potential Milwaukee Bucks Draft Targets
When projecting the Milwaukee Bucks’ draft targets, everything prior to the Giannis Antetokounmpo was considered.
Nate Ament – Tennessee – Freshman
The first word that comes to mind when you watch Nate Ament play is “inconsistency.” That is not often the word you’d expect to hear when discussing a potential lottery pick, but much like Ament himself, this one is an outlier. The draw to Ament as a prospect is clear. He possesses good size at 6’10” and is very athletic, along with possessing good shot-making abilities. Unfortunately for Ament, those abilities were not always on display at Tennessee.
There were some games where Ament would absolutely take over, and he looked like he could be in the conversation with the top prospects in the draft. On other nights, he would struggle to hit the broad side of a barn, and it could be questioned how he’d even be drafted in the first round. Ament shot just 43% from two-point range at Tennessee his freshman season and struggled often at the rim. While he has some explosiveness, his game speed is closer to the prototypical big than the speed you’d expect to see from the game-changing playmakers in the NBA. He struggles to create good looks for himself and, after appearing to be a clear top-five pick in the draft heading into his freshman season, has seen his draft stock slip a bit.
For as bad as he looks at times, his ceiling is what makes him such an intriguing prospect and a Milwaukee Bucks draft target. At just 19 years old and with likely growth on the horizon in his shot-making abilities, there is a real chance he can be molded into a Kevin Durant-like scorer. The only question is whether or not he’s able to develop quickly, or if he’ll be eaten by the wolves and become the next big lottery bust.
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Yaxel Lendeborg – Michigan – Senior
We are currently at a weird crossroads in the NBA that seems between eras. With the emergence of the Golden State Warriors dynasty, teams started playing smaller at each role, and the center position lost a bit of its value. Recently, mostly with the emergence of unicorn Victor Wembanyama and the dominant play of Nikola Jokic, some teams are starting to go back towards having a taller center. Lendeborg is the center of the past “Warriors era,” which is why he would make sense for the Milwaukee Bucks given their size.
Lendeborg is only 6’9″ but he plays bigger than his size. He also plays like a center defensively and can cause issues for similar-sized opponents in the paint. What sets him apart is his ability to run the floor, pass, handle the ball and shoot. He was a key component of the Michigan Wolverines’ championship team and has seen his draft stock skyrocket this past season.
Much like all the other players going in these late lottery picks, Lendeborg does have his clear drawbacks as well. He struggles with guys bigger than him in the post. While that would create issues for a team that needs a true center and may lack size elsewhere, he would be able to get plenty of help from Giannis inside, which is why a fit with Milwaukee would make sense. He also is an older prospect at 24 years old, but that may also work in the favor of the Bucks, who don’t need to worry about age if they still view themselves in “win now” mode with Giannis. As a player who would serve the most value to playoff teams as a “play now” role player, he’d make sense for a Milwaukee team that may believe they have a playoff team if Giannis can stay healthy.
Kingston Flemings – Houston – Freshman
For those who are fans of college basketball, Kingston Flemings is your prototypical Houston guard under Kelvin Sampson, and I mean that in the best way possible. If you didn’t follow Houston’s basketball program too closely, that simply means he is an incredible athlete with great defensive skills who is very intelligent on the court. He’s a great leader of an offense and is tremendously quick. He may not have the biggest size, but his hustle and willingness to do the dirty work more than make up for it.
The major flaw in Flemings’ game stems from his shooting and questions surrounding future improvement in that aspect. To his credit, Flemings improved his shooting efficiency immensely while in college. With that being said, his unorthodox shooting form and his issues at times finishing through contact will need to be improved upon to make it at the NBA level.
Outside of Ryan Rollins and Andre Jackson Jr., the Bucks don’t have a single guard under a guaranteed contract this upcoming season, as all the others have player options. It’s a stretch to believe Flemings could immediately start and provide value day one, but he would certainly play a role and bring back some of the defensive identity the Bucks have clearly been lacking as of late. If he can develop his jump shot even more, the sky is the limit for Flemings.
Predicting the Milwaukee Bucks Draft Selection
As a Bucks fan, it pains me to say this, but it would appear that Nate Ament will be the Milwaukee Bucks draft pick and No. 10. For whatever reason, Jon Horst and the Bucks love drafting projects based on raw talent and are willing to wait for players to develop. Granted, that has never worked out for them since drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo way back in 2013, but that hasn’t stopped them from doing the same thing ever since then.
To his credit, Ament does have solid potential, but his clear downsides scream future “Milwaukee Buck.” The organization will likely try to turn him into Giannis or Jabari Parker 2.0 and will be shocked when they can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice.
