Bailey surprised by Jazz: 'No idea' they'd pick me

NEW YORK -- In the first surprise of the 2025 NBA draft, the Utah Jazz took a swing on drafting Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, one of the biggest talents -- and mysteries -- in this year's class.

After the Jazz took him with the No. 5 pick, Utah president of basketball operations Austin Ainge told ESPN, "We really like him as a player, and a fit in our program."

Bailey said he had "no idea" the Jazz were interested in drafting him. Utah also was not among his preferred destinations, a source told ESPN's Jonathan Givony in the leadup to the NBA draft.

But Bailey says he believes he'll mesh well with his new teammates.

"I feel like once I come in, it's going to be a lot of work," he said. "I feel like I'm a person that likes to work out a lot. I'm going to push my teammates to be the best they can be. I want to come in and be a leader as a young cat."

Bailey's predraft strategy had been a major source of intrigue in the days leading up to the draft. He was projected for most of the season to be a top-three pick and entered Wednesday ranked No. 3 on ESPN's Top 100 prospects list, but he was the only American player who, entering draft night, hadn't conducted a single workout with an NBA team.

That fueled a belief that Bailey and his camp had a preferred destination in mind that was outside of the top five, and as a result, he began to slide down draft projections. In ESPN's final mock draft, he was projected to go to the Washington Wizards at No. 6.

Bailey was a hotly debated prospect among NBA teams all season. At 6-foot-9 in shoes with tantalizing shotmaking ability, he has the size to be a big wing, the most valuable positional archetype in the league. But Bailey is also not particularly efficient and has significant room to improve as a ball handler and passer.

Entering the draft, Washington checked several boxes for Bailey, who is from Chattanooga, Tennessee, but grew up in Atlanta, which is a short trip from the nation's capital. The Wizards, who are in the midst of a rebuild, are a team in desperate need of a tentpole star, a player who can grow into being the leading scorer on a high-level team -- something Bailey, if he excels, is exactly suited to be.

But the Jazz, who had the NBA's worst record last season at 17-65, are in the same situation, and they were not deterred from taking Bailey just because they didn't get a chance to work him out.

Utah's roster has plenty of room for Bailey to operate in and will be led by one of the league's best coaches in Will Hardy, who agreed to a long-term extension with the franchise this offseason. Now, the Jazz get the kind of talent they would've expected to only get had they moved up in the lottery last month.

Bailey said he was glad to be finished with the draft process.

"I'm ready to play some basketball now," he said. "It's just been a great journey. Me working hard, pushing myself physically and mentally, just getting prepared for the next level."