This story appears in SLAM 252. Get your copy now!
Growing up the youngest of four siblings, Nate Ement did everything his brothers did. That’s why when it comes to sports, football was the first thing he gravitated towards. His older brothers played, so did he. And when his third oldest brother, Frederick, took up basketball, Nate was more than the game.
By the time he was 10, the fast-rising Manassas, Va. native realized he was going to be too tall to stay on the field. So hoops it was. It started as 1 and 2 at a local primary school. After a two-minute walk, Nate and his brothers were on the blacktop, meeting up with Nate’s classmates and friends from Frederick High School. The fights were fun, but it was pride that Nate was looking for, even in middle school.
“Part of what I fell in love with was being able to play a sport where you can take someone 1-on-1 and you can try to beat them, not only offensively, but also defensively,” says Nate. : “Having relevance means being able to say: I’ll watch over you the whole game. I’ll stop you from scoring on me. I will make sure my team wins. So I really fell in love with the competitiveness of it.”
Seven years later, that will, love 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, many others have all stamped five stars to do their best to make future difference-makers for their squads.
Between the 3SSB scheme and the tape he produced at Highland High School, it’s easy to categorize Ament as a modern NBA archetype. He’s a 6-9 long forward who continually fine-tunes his three-level scoring range. There are also security locks. Focus on handling and speed to break defenders in transition and off the edge. Size ups, reverse treys and low position fades are all his game.
“From the time I started playing basketball until now, I knew I had to be consistent by always going to the gym. In everything I did, I just knew I wanted to be the best,” says Nate. “I just kept it consistent. I knew I had the potential to be one of the best in the country. But it was just important for me not to rush and be patient with my journey because my journey is different from others.”
Most recently, the game took him from the twinkling lights of Times Square to the gold medal podium at the FIBA America’s Cup with the U.S. Under-18 team. And to cap off a summer of years of dedication to his craft, he took home the Terrence Clarke Spalding MVP Award and a copy of the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 6. As he stood up for contested jumpers and rose to meet the rim several times while playing at Rucker Park, memories of his days in the Black Cap came flooding back. He wanted to get his best game like his brothers.
“They’re trying to be the best at whatever they can do, whether it’s sports, whether it’s school, life or anything else. I try to do it with basketball as well,” he says. “They are my motivation. I play hard for them. Not just for my brothers, but for my whole family, to make sure I represent the name on the back of my jersey the best I can.”
Portraits by Marcus Stevens.
