A curious and unpredictable predraft process for one of the 2025 NBA Draft’s most talented players ended fittingly in a curious and unpredictable way Wednesday night as Ace Bailey, the Rutgers wing who canceled a meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers (who held pick No. 3) last week and who reportedly was not working out for teams picking in the top five, was selected No. 5 overall by the Utah Jazz.
Ace Bailey addresses decision to not work out for teams prior to NBA Draft: ‘I’m just working on basketball’
Jordan Dajani
Bailey did not hold a workout for the Jazz in the lead-up to the draft and preferred Washington, New Orleans or Brooklyn over Utah or Charlotte, according to ESPN. His camp seemingly intentionally sabotaged his stock in an effort to get him out of the top five to one of the Wizards, Pelicans or Nets — who held picks No. 6, 7 and 8, respectively — only for the Jazz to win the high-stakes game of chicken.
Bailey ranked as the No. 4 player in the final CBS Sports Big Board ranking of the top 100 NBA Draft prospects in the class and has widely been viewed for months as a top-three player. His public falling out with Philadelphia last week, however, signaled he was unlikely to be in play at No. 3, and Charlotte has long been enamored with Kon Knueppel — whom they selected Wednesday — at No. 4.
It’s hard to call Bailey’s selection at No. 5 a draft fall but it’s easy to call the last few weeks a PR failure. Not only did he and his representation fail to steer him to a preferred destination, but he landed in a place he reportedly preferred not to land and all the while took a substantial hit in the public sphere with how he navigated the process.
Despite all this, Bailey stumbled into a situation in Utah where he could walk into a big role from Day 1 and be asked to shoulder a significant load. No team won fewer games last season than did the Jazz, who finished 17-65, and for a pure scorer like Bailey, he joins an offense that finished 21st in points per game last season and desperately needs juice on that end of the floor.
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