{"id":44230,"date":"2025-07-06T20:33:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T20:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/44230\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T20:33:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T20:33:17","slug":"jazz-rookie-ace-bailey-wants-to-focus-on-the-task-at-hand-basketball-is-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/44230\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz rookie Ace Bailey wants to focus on the task at hand: \u2018Basketball is the job\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

SALT LAKE CITY \u2014 Ace Bailey vividly remembers the moment he defined his life\u2019s path. It makes him chuckle when he thinks about it, a moment when the preteen comes of age, becomes independent and then asks the question every parent dreads.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom. Can I have some money?\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, as an 18-year-old, Bailey signed a contract with the Utah Jazz. All of which means he won\u2019t have to ask his mother, Ramika McGee, that question at any point in the foreseeable future. Bailey recognizes that he had what he needed, even if he and his family weren\u2019t living in a state of luxury, but none of that stopped his mother from giving him the answer a parent at some point gives a child.<\/p>\n

Get a job. Mow a lawn. Put in an application at McDonald\u2019s. Go earn some money.<\/p>\n

Bailey didn\u2019t hesitate in his retort. It\u2019s the answer that gives insight into who he is as a person. It\u2019s an answer that defines where he wants to be, headed into his rookie season with a Jazz fan base salivating to latch on to someone with the talent to be a potential superstar.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom,\u201d Bailey said, \u201cI\u2019m never getting a job. I can\u2019t ever get a job.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasketball is the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through a pre-draft process shrouded in controversy \u2014 the online speculation and talk, the canceled workouts, the Jazz drafting Bailey with the No. 5 pick and photos circulating of Bailey looking less than pleased with said selection \u2014 the question of \u201cWho is Ace Bailey?\u201d has lingered. That question hasn\u2019t been answered.<\/p>\n

In an extensive interview with The Athletic, Bailey showed himself to be like almost any other 18-year-old. He\u2019s energetic. His mind races through multiple thoughts at once. He can\u2019t wipe the sly grin off his face. And popcorn \u2026 he loves popcorn with Gatorade as a post-workout snack.<\/p>\n

But, if you talk to him about basketball, his knowledge extends well beyond his years. He\u2019ll tell you about Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and their work ethic. He\u2019ll tell you about those two working maniacally on their games. He\u2019ll tell you about the pain they went through to be great.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, you have to be aware of the business side of basketball,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t ask for all of this to come with it. I just want to hoop. I want to keep the main thing the main thing and stay focused. During pre-draft, I was surrounded by family and love. I\u2019m big on family and loyalty. They were there for me even before I was Ace Bailey.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Jazz fans, Bailey represents hope. This is a Utah fan base and community that\u2019s seen its last three stars leave the franchise under adverse circumstances. Donovan Mitchell was traded when it became clear his relationship with the Jazz, and with Utah in general, had run its course. Rudy Gobert was traded because the Jazz didn\u2019t want to pay a center $40 million-plus in today\u2019s NBA economy. And who can forget when Gordon Hayward left the Jazz with a \u201cThank you, Utah\u201d letter<\/a> in July of 2017?<\/p>\n

For so long, Utah had the duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone, virtual Jazz lifers who consistently lifted the franchise to great heights. More than 20 years after their departure as players, the Jazz, in many ways, haven\u2019t replaced them.<\/p>\n

For three years after Mitchell and Gobert, the Jazz picked good players in consecutive lotteries. But they hadn\u2019t picked the one who has All-NBA potential. That\u2019s where Bailey comes in. You look at the near-6-foot-8 frame and the condor-like wingspan, then you close your eyes and picture flashes of Paul George or maybe even Tracy McGrady. His Salt Lake City Summer League debut Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers yielded eight points, seven rebounds and a ton of rough moments.<\/p>\n

But it also revealed flashes of what could be: A highlight block, where he reached the top of the square. The jab step and pull-up jumper that he was known for at Rutgers. A cut to the middle, and then one dribble into a jumper that hit nothing but net.<\/p>\n

\n

First of many \ud83e\udee1<\/p>\n

Welcome to the league, Rook! #TakeNote<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ngPziJa2uh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) July 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s the hope Bailey represents that will consume Jazz fans through this summer, next year and beyond. On the heels of Hayward leaving for the Boston Celtics, Mitchell was a gift to the organization and the community. Three years after Mitchell, the Jazz finally have someone on the roster capable of developing into the kind of player they can win with at a high level.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the guys in the draft, he\u2019s the one who I think has maybe the highest ceiling,\u201d Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell told The Athletic. \u201cHe\u2019s a talented guy, and I think some of the stuff that was said about him before the draft was unwarranted. They spent 90 percent of the time talking about the 3 percent of the things he can\u2019t do, and not enough about the 97 percent of the things he can do.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis work ethic is superb. He can make plays for other people. He can get into the lane and make plays. I think in time, he has a chance to play the point guard position. I think he\u2019s still growing physically. I know that I\u2019m biased, but I think he is going to be really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey\u2019s potential is why the Jazz drafted him without a second thought. The pressure on him, however, will be enormous. That\u2019s where Bailey being 18 could help.<\/p>\n

When you talk to him, he is confident in his skin. He truly believes that in time, he will be the best player in his draft class. He believes that he will have the chance to be an All-Star. And he believes that he will win a bunch of games in a Jazz uniform.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clich\u00e9 to say that players are gym rats and don\u2019t do much other than play basketball, but Bailey is that player. Last year, Pikiell and Rutgers finished a West Coast trip to Washington. They flew back to the East Coast, where Pikiell announced a 10 a.m. practice the next day. He heard groans from fatigued players hoping to get a morning off.<\/p>\n

When Pikiell got to the practice facility the next morning, about an hour before schedule, he found Bailey, already in full sweat, going full speed, getting shots up.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo most kids, an early practice is like a trip to the dentist,\u201d Pikiell said. \u201cAce was always the first one in the gym.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Bailey arrived in Utah, he got off the flight and went straight to the gym. This past Wednesday, Utah\u2019s summer-league team held a practice. Bailey got a full workout in before and after the practice.<\/p>\n

As he told his mother way back when, basketball is going to be how he pays the bills and how he will take care of his family. He remembers when some of his AAU tournament fees were so high his mom couldn\u2019t come to some of the games. His sense of urgency to become a good player is significant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I know is that I want to be the best,\u201d Bailey said. \u201cIf you want to be the best, you\u2019re just not going to be able to do that overnight. You have to work at being the best. I love basketball. It\u2019s my escape. I know we didn\u2019t have everything growing up, but my mom made sure that we had the stuff that we needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing her make sacrifices, a lot of parents wouldn\u2019t do that. She always made sure that we were first. So, I told her that I was going to take care of her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailey\u2019s professional debut was a bit of a mixed bag. For as high a ceiling he has as a player, he\u2019s going to have to make some improvements. For instance, after going a long stretch without being involved in the offense, because Brice Sensabaugh and Kyle Filipowski both were playing well, Bailey received a pass, turned, dribbled a few times and shot the ball. The shot was completely outside of the offense. It\u2019s something Bailey is going to have to eliminate.<\/p>\n

In the first half, when he was involved, Bailey found himself doubled on a possession. Instead of forcing the issue, he found a cutting teammate for his only assist of the game. That, and his ballhandling, must improve. On the plus side, he was much better defensively than anticipated, putting his length and athleticism to good use in disrupting the Sixers\u2019 offense.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a step up for Bailey, as it is for all rookies. He talked about the NBA meaning playing against grown men, people who have a family to feed. It\u2019s a different level of urgency when you are playing for a literal job. He knows he will have to get stronger. He will have to see what does and doesn\u2019t work at this level.\u00a0Even still being a teenager, Bailey realizes that.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s that kind of self-awareness that made him a big hit at Rutgers. He stepped on campus, and he worked. When fellow teammate and No. 2 draft pick Dylan Harper missed some games in the middle of the season, Pikiell asked more of Bailey, and he delivered.<\/p>\n

Bailey was a loved figure within the Rutgers basketball office. And it wasn\u2019t because the coaching staff had to coax him into the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe doesn\u2019t do too much else other than play basketball,\u201d Rutgers teammate Jamichael Davis said. \u201cHe likes playing NCAA college football (video game). He likes a little Fortnite or Call of Duty. Other than that, he\u2019s playing ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gives off so much positive energy. He made people enjoy coming to work every day \u2026 even when we were going through hard times. Looking back at it, knowing where we came from, not too many people in his position have the attitude he has. It motivates me as a player to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Photo of Ace Bailey defended by Jalen Hood-Schifino: Chris Gardner \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n