Brayden Burries and Nate Ament arrive as Milwaukee turns the page on Giannis

The Milwaukee Bucks just drafted their future. Or at least, they hope they did.

With the 10th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Bucks grabbed Arizona guard Brayden Burries. Two picks later, at No. 13, they took Tennessee forward Nate Ament. These are the first selections of a post-Giannis Antetokounmpo world, and the pressure on both guys is real.

Burries comes in hot. He led Arizona to the Final Four, averaging 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 39% from three. The Big 12 All-Freshman and First Team All-Big 12 nods are nice. But the Bucks didn’t draft him for his college résumé. They drafted him because they think he can be a primary scorer in the NBA. That’s a lot to ask of a one-year college player, but Milwaukee doesn’t have much choice right now.

Ament is a different kind of prospect. At 6-foot-9, he’s a stretch forward who put up 16.7 points and 6.3 boards at Tennessee. His 33% from deep isn’t elite, but the mechanics are there. The SEC All-Freshman team and Second Team All-SEC are solid, though his upside probably depends on how his body fills out. The Bucks got this pick from Miami as part of the Giannis trade, so there’s already a weird symbolic weight attached to it.

Milwaukee had made the playoffs for nine straight seasons before this year. But the last three ended in first-round exits. Then they missed the postseason entirely. That’s when the front office decided it was time to hit reset. The Giannis deal to the Heat was the biggest trade in franchise history, and it left the roster basically bare. Burries and Ament are the first bricks in a rebuild the organization isn’t trying to hide.

Neither guy is going to walk in and save the franchise overnight. But the Bucks aren’t asking for that. They’re asking for effort, growth, and maybe a little patience from a fanbase that’s used to winning. Rookie expectations in Milwaukee just got a lot heavier than they were a year ago. That’s what happens when your best player is gone and the future comes down to a 19-year-old guard and a lanky forward from Tennessee.