Nate Ament Discusses NBA Draft Decision in Knoxville
Nate Ament was in Knoxville on Saturday and used the event to discuss his decision to enter the NBA Draft. He did it at Dick’s House of Sport, where three of Tennessee’s most impactful athletes gathered for the first stop on the 2026 Road to Fanatics Games Tour.
Knoxville Draws Ament, Smith
Ament and Trey Smith were both in attendance, giving the stop an unmistakable Tennessee edge. Eddie George also came to Knoxville, adding another former Tennessee standout to the mix.
The setting gave Ament a public stage tied directly to his next step. The Tennessee basketball product would have been one of the top performers on the day had his score counted, a detail that sat alongside his draft discussion and kept the focus on where he goes from here.
Road to Fanatics Games Tour
The Knoxville stop was the first of four on the tour, and the format leaves little room for drift. The top three finishers at each stop move on to New York for the finals, where a $1 million prize is available.
That path points straight to Fanatics Fest 2026, which will take place Jul 16-19, 2026 in New York City. For Ament, the day in Knoxville was less about a workout result than a real-time look at the draft decision he is weighing in front of Tennessee fans.
Trey Smith On David Sanders Jr.
Smith also spoke about his relationship with David Sanders Jr. and the role he has taken on with the younger star. “He really has no limits to what he can become and what he can do at the next level.”
That kind of mentorship sat in the background of the afternoon, but Ament remained the main draw. He left Knoxville having put his draft choice in the open, in a setting built around competition and a path to New York.
