Nate Ament Becomes Virginia High School Basketball's Latest First-Round NBA Draft Pick

Nate Ament made history Tuesday night.

The former Highland School standout became the first NBA Draft pick in school history and the first player from Fauquier County, Virginia ever selected in the NBA Draft when he was taken 13th overall by the Miami Heat before being dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ament Continues a Legacy of No. 1 Picks from Virginia

Virginia has produced scores of NBA players over the years including Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Joe Smith and Allen Iverson who were all No. 1 overall selections in the NBA Draft.

On Tuesday, Nate Ament, who played a season of college basketball at the University of Tennessee, joined the list of Virginia products who were first round NBA Draft selections.

A year ago, Ament, who was born in Woodbridge and raised in Manassas, guided Highland School (Warrenton, Virginia) to a state championship. He was named the 2024-2025 Virginia boys basketball Gatorade Player of the Year and was also selected to play in the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game.

Joining Virginia Basketball Royalty

For decades, the state of Virginia has been a stomping ground for future NBA talent. In 1983, 7-foot-4 center Ralph Sampson (Harrisonburg High School) was selected No. 1 overall by the Houston Rockets out of the University of Virginia. Sampson, who was a three-time national college player of the year, is a member of both the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

As a high school senior in 1979, Ralph Sampson scored a team-high 23 points to lead the Capital All-Stars to an 86-85 victory over the United States All-Stars in the prestigious Capital Classic High School All-Star Basketball Game. The United States All-Stars were led by future NBA players Dominique Wilkins, who finished with a game-high 26 points, and Clark Kellogg who added 19 points.

Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs selected 7-footer David Robinson (Osbourn Park High School, Manassas, Virginia) with the No. 1 overall selection in the 1987 NBA Draft. Robinson, who played at the United States Naval Academy, spent his entire 14-year NBA career in San Antonio and is widely considered to be among the greatest centers in both college basketball and NBA history.

The Golden State Warriors made University of Maryland power forward Joe Smith (Maury High School, Norfolk, Virginia) the top overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft and a year later Smith’s high school rival Allen Iverson (Bethel High School, Hampton, Virginia) was the NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall selection out of Georgetown University.

Grant Hill was named a Parade All-American, McDonald’s All-American and Virginia Mr. Basketball at South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia before the Detroit Pistons selected him with the third overall pick out of Duke University in the 1994 NBA Draft. The Virginia product is enshrined in both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

The extensive list of Virginia products who were first round NBA Draft selections also includes Steph Curry’s father Dell Curry (Fort Defiance High School, Fort Defiance, Virginia), Alonzo Mourning (Indian River High School, Chesapeake, Virginia), J.R. Reid (Kempsville High School, Virginia Beach, Virginia), Hubert Davis (Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, Virginia), George Lynch (Flint Hill, Oakton, Virginia), Bryant Stith (Brunswick High School, Lawrenceville, Virginia), JJ Redick (Cave Spring High School, Roanoke, Virginia) and Kendall Marshall (Bishop O’Connell High School, Arlington, Virginia).

Virginia Also Has a WNBA Pipeline

On the women’s side, Azzi Fudd made league history this year when she became the first DMV native selected with the top overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. Fudd, a Northern Virginia product who played at St. John’s College High School (Washington, DC), was selected by the Dallas Wings in April’s draft.

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