LAS VEGAS — The lower bowl of the Thomas & Mack Center was packed with fans who were hoping to see one of the marquee matchups of Las Vegas Summer League on Friday night — No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets vs. No. 5 overall pick Ace Bailey of the Utah Jazz.
Instead they were disappointed as Bailey watched from the team bench in street clothes.
For the second straight game (the final game of Salt Lake City Summer League, followed by this first one in Vegas), Bailey was sidelined. In Utah the Jazz said it was because of right groin soreness and then were more specific in Vegas, calling the injury right hip flexor soreness.
Jazz summer league head coach Chris Jones was noncommittal when it came to any kind of timeline for Bailey’s return to action.
“To be honest, I’m not sure,” Jones said. “I’ll talk to our training staff tonight and see what their plan for him is.”
That said, team sources told the Deseret News that they are hopeful Bailey will play on Sunday when the Jazz take on the Golden State Warriors.
In the fourth quarter against the Hornets on Friday, the Jazz were dealt another blow when rookie Walter Clayton Jr. limped off the floor grabbing at his left hamstring.
After the game, though, Clayton said he felt a little tightness in the hamstring but wasn’t worried about it being serious and expects to play moving forward.
Adding insult to literal injury for the fans, Knueppel — the second-most notable Duke player in the 2025 NBA draft — had a wildly underwhelming game for the Hornets, scoring just five points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field and 0-of-5 from 3.
Instead, it was another former Duke standout who stole the show.
Kyle Filipowski, who is heading into his second year with the Jazz, scored 32 points on 12 of 17 shooting to go with six rebounds and five assists.
“He’s just a really good player,” Jones said. “He’s a matchup nightmare for other teams with the way he’s able to stretch the floor but also be a presence in the paint, and then obviously his passing ability as well, so being able to have Kyle is a gift.”
As the Jazz look toward the rest of their Summer League schedule, many are hoping to build on what started on Friday. Filipowski wants this summer to be a springboard for the entirety of the 2025-26 season and for him to be able to carry some of the confidence he’s building into his second NBA campaign.
Clayton, who has been solid for the Jazz through their summer games, was having a great night before he exited with the hamstring injury, scoring 21 points to go with six rebounds and three assists.
He wants to be able to show that he’s just as valuable and comfortable whether on or off the ball.
Cody Williams, meanwhile, had a massive fourth quarter for the Jazz, scoring 11 of his 21 points in the final 10 minutes of play.
“He was aggressive,” Filipowski said of Williams. “He’s been working super hard and you can just see it with his body number one, but also just working out with him this whole summer, I’ve been able to see how hard he’s worked.
“So I was even telling him, and some of the other guys are telling him too, ‘Just keep being aggressive. Stop second-guessing yourself. You’re a great player,’ and I think that’s what he did in the fourth quarter.”
The Jazz will play the Warriors at 8 p.m. MST Sunday on ESPN2.