Class of 2025 Nate Ament Says How Family and Competition Shaped His Journey
This story appears in SLAM 252. Get your copy now.
Growing up the youngest of four siblings, Nate Ament did everything his brothers did. That’s why when it comes to sports, soccer was the first thing he got into. His older brothers played it, and so did he. And when his third oldest brother Frederick started taking up basketball, Nate was more than game.
When he was 10 years old, the Manassas, VA, fast-growing man realized he was going to be too tall to stay on the field. So it was. It started with 1 and 2 at the local primary school. After a two-minute walk, Nate and his brothers were in the dark, meeting Nate’s classmates and Frederick’s high school friends. The fights were fun, but it was pride that Nate wanted, even in middle school.
“My favorite part was being able to play a game where you can take someone 1-on-1 and you can try to beat them, not just offensively but defensively,” Nate said. “To be able to have a matchup is to be able to say, I will watch over you the whole game. I will stop you from scoring on me. I will make sure my team wins. So, I really liked the competitiveness of it.”
Seven years later, that, passion and determination serve as the foundation of Nate’s game, one that has seen him blossom into a top-5 player in the Class of 2025 and the No. 1 player in the state of Virginia. Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UConn, Virginia and many others, have stamped the five-star wing as the future difference of their team.
Between the 3SSB circuit and his tape at Highland High School, it’s easy to distinguish Ament as a modern NBA archetype. He is a tall 6-9 forward who continues to fine-tune his three-point range. Safety locks are also available. Be careful, with the handle and quickness to break down defenders in transition and off the wing. Size-ups, step-back treys and low-post fades, his whole game.
“From the time I started playing basketball until now, I knew that you just have to be consistent, always go to the gym. “In anything I did, I knew I wanted to be better,” said Nate. “I just kept it the same. I knew I had the potential to be one of the best in the country. But for me, it was important not to rush things and be patient in my journey, because my journey is different than everyone else’s.”
Most recently, the sport has taken him from the bright lights of Times Square to the gold medal podium at the FIBA AmeriCup with the USA U18 Team. And to cap off a summer driven by years of commitment to his craft, he took home the MVP award for Terrence Clarke Spalding and the prestigious SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 6. As he blocked competitive jumpers and rose to meet the rim a few times during a game at Rucker Park, memories of his days on the blacktop came flooding back. He wanted to get the best of his game, just like his brothers.
“They try to be better in everything they can do, be it sports, be it school, life or whatever. I try to do that with basketball as well,” he said. “They are kind of encouraging to me. I play hard for them. Not just for my brothers, but for my whole family, just to make sure I represent the name on the back of my jersey in the best possible way.”
Photos by Marcus Stevens.
