So much has been said about Ace Bailey‘s present, after he had refused to workout with any NBA club for a pre-draft session and then was finally chosen as the No. 5 pick by the Utah franchise, a place he reportedly did not want to end up playing for. However, now he feels “blessed” for this opportunity and already got a chance to shine. 

The young star’s debut in a Jazz jersey finally came this past Saturday, when his team opened the 2025 Summer League in Las Vegas. Even though he wasn’t as prolific in scoring as we grew accustomed for the Rutgers, he also proved he was willing to do the dirty work.

The 18-year-old ended the match with eight points on 3-of-13 shooting in his team’s 93-89 victory over Philadelphia, but he was outshined by his former Scarlet Red teammate VJ Edgecombe. The Sixers rookie had 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while going 13-of-27 from the floor.

By the end of the match, VJ missed a shot from beyond the arc that would have tied the game, and Ace grabbed the defensive rebound and scored a point to seal the win.  “Man, it was great,” shared Bailey postgame. “We won too, so that made it a plus. It was fun.”

Despite so many reports suggesting the Utah staff were in doubt of his rookie’s abilities, the youngster impressed his coaches with his active support on defensive and physical play. “All that stuff isn’t talked about enough,” Jazz coach Will Hardy told the press.

The Jazz tactician made reference to the 6-foot-8, 210-pound athlete and his disposition to defend and rebound: “The offense will come. He’s learning a new system and new people and has been worked hard the last four days [in practice]. He’s an NBA body and athlete. He’s a great teammate too. I’ve had nothing but positive reviews from all the coaches and his teammates this first week.”

During his team with the Rutgers, Bailey averaged 17.6 points. “Offensively, we can do a little bit better job probably getting him involved,” said assistant coach Scott Morrison. “We’ll chip away at that. The nice thing about summer league is it doesn’t really matter what the result is.”

&nbsp