ESPN projects Tennessee basketball’s Felix Okpara and Ja’Kobi Gillespie to be picked back to back in the second round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday night. ESPN’s updated mock draft has Okpara at No. 41 overall to the Miami Heat and Gillespie at No. 42 to the San Antonio Spurs.

Nate Ament was the No. 13 overall pick in the first round to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. Tennessee, which has now had players picked in six straight NBA Drafts, could have three players drafted for just the second time in the modern era of the draft, since it went to two rounds in 1989.

Grant Williams was a first-round pick in 2019, ahead of Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone being picked in the second round.

Where ESPN ranks Felix Okpara, Ja’Kobi Gillespie in NBA Draft

Entering the second round, ESPN has Okpara ranked as the 12th-best player available in the draft. Gillespie is ranked No. 14. 

Duke guard Isaiah Evans is ESPN’s No. 1 prospect to start the second round, ahead of North Carolina center Henri Veesaar, Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas, Cincinnati forward Baba Miller, Louisville guard Ryan Conwell and German guard Jack Kayil.

Also ranked ahead of Okpara is BYU guard Richie Saunders, Houston guard Emanuel Sharp, Purdue guard Braden Smith, St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell and Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile. Ranked between Okpara and Gillespie is Arizona guard Jaden Bradley.

Felix Okpara ‘played his way into the two-way contract mix’

Okpara averaged 8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 26.9 minutes per game this season, starting 34 of 35 games. He shot 59.7% from the field, 61.1% on 2-point shots and 63.5% at the foul line. 

He played two seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Tennessee and anchoring the Vols on defense, serving as the rim protector defensively and a rim runner on offense. 

Okpara had the fourth-highest standing reach at the NBA Draft Combine in May at 9-foot-4. He was measured at 6-foot-10 without shoes, weighed 237.4 pounds and had a 7-2 wingspan. 

“Okpara had a good predraft process,” ESPN wrote, “and played his way into the two-way contract mix as a dependable big man who chips in a little bit of value on both ends.”

Ja’Kobi Gillespie ‘profiles as a potential bench option’ in NBA

Gillespie averaged 18.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 34.8 minutes per game while starting all 37 games in his one and only season at Tennessee.

The Greeneville, Tenn., native started his career with two seasons at Belmont, then transferred to Maryland before his homecoming with the Vols as a senior last season. 

“After starting his college career at Belmont,” ESPN wrote on Wednesday, “Gillespie had good years at Maryland and Tennessee while playing his way into the NBA picture. He profiles as a potential bench option if his scoring ability can outweigh his size concerns.”

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Nate Ament on Tuesday night became Tennessee basketball’s highest NBA Draft pick since Marcus Haislip in 2002 when Ament, the former one-and-done five-star freshman wing for the Vols, was the No. 13 overall pick in the first round when he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Haislip also was taken No. 13 by the Bucks.

Ament is the 13th first-round pick in Tennessee program history and the fifth under Rick Barnes. Dalton Knecht was the No. 17 overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024, Grant Williams was the No. 22 overall pick to the Boston Celtics in 2019 and both Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer were first-round picks in 2021, with Johnson at No. 21 to the Los Angeles Clippers and Springer at No. 28 to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Vols have had three players in program history picked in the top 10, but none since 1983.

Tennessee in the NBA Draft’s 1st Round

Nate Ament was ranked as a top-10 prospect in the NBA Draft

Ament entered draft week ranked as both a top-10 prospect in the draft and a projected top-10 pick.

He moved up one spot in ESPN’s final NBA mock draft on Monday, going from No. 10 to the Milwaukee Bucks to No. 9 to the Dallas Mavericks. He was No. 9 overall on ESPN’s ranking of the best players available entering the draft.

“The Nets at No. 6 are seen as the high end,” Woo wrote, “but scenarios are also in play in which he falls into the second half of the lottery. Teams say he has been selective about scheduling workouts, declining to visit multiple teams in the top 10. 

“The Mavericks and Bucks are two possible landing spots. If those teams go a different direction, he could slide.”

Nate Ament’s one-and-done season at Tennessee

Ament averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 35 games during his lone season with the Vols. He started in all 35 games he played and averaged 29.7 minutes per game while shooting 39.9% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line.

He was the No. 3 overall player in the 2025 class in the On3 recruiting rankings and was the No. 2 small forward in the country and the No. 1 overall player in the state of Virginia.

Ament is the highest-ranked prospect that Rick Barnes has added during his tenure at Tennessee and is believed to one of the highest-ranked recruits to sign with the Vols, alongside Tobias Harris and Allan Houston.

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