They say 'Never meet your heroes,' but that's not the case for Milwaukee Bucks rookie Nate Ament, who was thrown into the fire to guard NBA legend Kevin Durant when Houston visited Fiserv Forum earlier this week. Although the game's outcome wasn't what he hoped for, head coach Taylor Jenkins saw immense value in the chance for the Bucks' 13th overall pick in the 32-point blowout loss.
"It's a huge learning opportunity. I thought he did some good things, and some things he's going to learn from," Jenkins told Dairyland Express after the game. "I liked the physicality he was trying to play with, so hopefully he can watch the film [and] constantly get better, cause I'm gonna challenge him with those kinds of matchups moving forward."
Ament's impact won't fly off the box score despite contributing eight points, four rebounds, a steal, and a block in almost 20 minutes off the bench. It wasn't always pretty either, as Ament committed a few superfluous fouls against one of the best scorers in the game's history.
What stood out, however, was the way that Ament relished the opportunity to compete against a player who he once told SI's Joey Walraven was a big influence in his decision to play under Rick Barnes at Tennessee.
Barnes was Durant's head coach at the University of Texas, and Ament said of Barnes, "He sees me as that kind of guy for his program." If Ament is going to evolve into that level of an impact player, or even a fraction of the basketball legend that Durant is, he needs to relish the opportunities to match up against the players who he studied on his road to the league.
Nate Ament's developmental track under Taylor Jenkins gives the Bucks rookie the perfect mix of a tangible opportunity and a manageable role.
Jenkins is not here to simply let the young guys loose and see if they can figure it out — he's giving them real assignments and opportunities to better themselves as rookies. That means they're not going to get all the minutes every night, and it's not guaranteed they'll have the chance to start in their rookie years. But he's also going to use every opportunity he sees fit to help advance their development, as evidenced by Ament's extended role against Durant in the fifth game of the season.
From the sound of it, this is only the start as well. The Bucks have some difficult matchups over the next two weeks, including two games against Boston, an NBA Cup game vs. Toronto, and a visit to the reigning champion New York Knicks. In theory, there should be chances for Ament to get his feet wet against more of the best and most strenuous players at his position, including Jayson Tatum, Scottie Barnes, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby.
Seeing how big, successful forwards operate up close and personal should provide Ament with the learning opportunities he needs to hone his raw skills into tangible success at the professional level.
One thing is for sure, though: Taylor Jenkins is the right coach to strike that balance of tossing his young players into the mix and making sure his team is still competitively viable. We're in the building phase of this Bucks squad's lifecycle, and that means making sure the rookies like Nate Ament are able to develop at the pace that makes sense for them.
It might not seem like a big deal right now, but these learning opportunities are what will begin to inform how Ament operates as an NBA player for the rest of his career, and there's no better way to learn something than by trying it. By the end of the 2026-27 season, Ament will probably look like a different, more complete player because of teachable moments like these.
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