Copyright Salt Lake City Deseret News
The players on the Utah Jazz roster welcomed Ace Bailey with open arms as soon as he stepped foot in Salt Lake City. “Soon as I jumped off the PJ,” Bailey said. “We clicked right away. I mean, first practice in the summertime, we all just clicked. Summer League, we clicked. We all came together.” That they made him feel welcome, gave him the space to ask questions and have told him how valued he is to the group has gone a long way in the early part of the rookie’s development. Bailey had a bit of a breakout game on Tuesday night. In a 152-128 win over the Indiana Pacers, Bailey scored 17 first-half points en route to his first 20-point NBA game, to go with four rebounds. And although he was all smiles and felt good about getting 20 points, it was his single assist to Lauri Markkanen that he was most proud of after the game, and had no problem admitting that he’s got a long way to go. The earnestness in wanting to improve and not coming in with any sense of entitlement is what has impressed the veterans on roster the most about the 2025 No. 5 overall pick. “He get keeps getting better, keeps asking questions in the locker room, and he wants to get better,” Markkanen said. “He works on his game a lot. He watches a lot of film, and that doesn’t go unnoticed. So, obviously he’s still young, and he’ll make some mistakes, but we see the talent that he has and the work ethic, so it’s all there.” It’s the give and take in these relationships that seems to be fostering the perfect environment for Bailey. The established players on the team have made the transition easy for Bailey, and in turn, Bailey is looking to prove he’s worth their grace and understanding. “Yes, rookies need to understand kind of where they are in the pecking order, and it’s different, and you’re used to being the man on your team, and maybe that’s not the case here,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “But it’s also really important for the guys that are already in the locker room to welcome them. It’s hard being 19 or 22 and walking into a professional locker room and you don’t know anybody. So I think those guys have had a lot of humility, and they’ve worked really hard.” Tuesday night marked Bailey’s 11th NBA game, his second NBA start and just the second time he’s played more than 25 minutes in a single NBA game. He’s still learning terminology and how to properly close out on NBA shooters. He’s still trying to figure out how to use his length and the difference between good shots, bad shots and how time changes the definitions of those shots. There are about a million other things that Bailey has to go through before even gets close to realizing his NBA potential. A 20-point night is a great stepping stone for him, and proof that some of his work is paying off. But the trust he has in his teammates and their trust in him is what is going to allow nights like this to become commonplace.
