The Milwaukee Bucks introduced their two newest first-round draft picks to the community Thursday, and Brayden Burries and Nate Ament wasted no time making Milwaukee feel like home.
The pair visited the Boys and Girls Club, where they met with kids, answered questions, and stayed after the event to cheer on young players during a basketball clinic.
Ament, the No. 13 overall pick, said the accessibility he and Burries can offer young fans is something he wishes he had growing up.
"Growing up as a kid, if I had NBA players as accessible to me as we are going to be to them, then it would have been a lot more motivation and help for me to get to where I want to get to. But yeah, I think, you know, I love working with kids and I think, you know, they're amazing people and I'm excited to get to work with, you know, these kids here." Ament said.
Burries, the No. 10 overall pick, said the turnout from the community stood out to him.
"I like to see other people happy. Like, it's kind of crazy just seeing everybody here come together, you know, the community to just see us like answer questions. Like, that's how you know, like, you guys are real connected. It seems like a family environment." Burries said.
Watch: Bucks rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament make their debut at Milwaukee Boys and Girls Club
For the kids at the Boys and Girls Club, the visit left a lasting impression. Donovan Williams said seeing the new Bucks in person made draft night feel real.
"It was cool because I did watch Draft Night. It was very cool seeing these guys because I did kind of watch them in college a little bit. They're very good players." Williams said.
Reginald Stephens said watching the rookies achieve what he hopes to one day accomplish was inspiring.
"Seeing that there's players that I've been looking up to, achieving something that I've always wanted to achieve, I feel like I can just leave it through them because how long I've been watching them." Stephens said.
Both players said being drafted by Milwaukee meant more than just landing in the NBA.
"You know, I know I got big believers here with the Bucks organization, so I was just super proud, super excited, and I just can't wait with the future holds." Ament said.
Burries said hearing the Bucks were going to select him made him realize the fit was right.
"Growing up, you know, you want to get drafted, you want to make it to an NBA. And then as you get older, you kind of want to go to wherever the best fit is. And then kind of like when I heard the Bucks, they gonna pick me, like about to pick me, I was thinking like, dang, like, this is the best fit for me, and they want me. That's the main thing." Burries said.
Head coach Taylor Jenkins and general manager John Horst emphasized the character and competitiveness of both players above all else.
Ament said Jenkins made an immediate impression during the pre-draft process.
"Going through the whole pre-draft process and meeting with the Bucks organization, and what I love most about coach is while I sat down for my interview, he had a you know a low light tape of me of my five worst plays in college. And I think that's super important. I think that, as a player who has a lot of room to grow, it's important to have a coach who sees that in you, but also, like talking to him, it's never really been about anything but basketball. So for me, I just want to surround myself with people who are basketball junkies and want to stay in the gym and want to get better every day. And I think I found that in Coach Jenkins." Ament said.
Burries said Jenkins took the same approach with him and drew a comparison to his college coach.
"He did the same thing with me in Chicago. He was the only coach that did it. But like that just shows like how much he cares for you and how much he wants to see you grow. And he honestly reminds me a lot of my coach from college, Coach Lloyd, where like he's a he's a player's coach. You know, he wants to continue to learn as a coach from his players and see what they see on the floor. And I feel like he really cares for you not only as a basketball player, but as a human being." Burries said.
Burries and Ament stayed after the event to cheer on the kids as they went through a basketball clinic at the Boys and Girls Club.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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