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Ace Bailey

The highest-ranked recruit ever to sign with Rutgers, Bailey scored 39 points against Indiana as a freshman and left for the draft after one season. Utah selected him fifth overall in 2025 and signed him alongside fellow first-round pick Walter Clayton Jr.

By February 2026 he had become the youngest player in Jazz franchise history to reach 500 career points, at 19 years and 181 days, and in March he scored a career-high 32 against Washington. Born in Chattanooga, he starred at McEachern High outside Atlanta, averaging 32.5 points and 15.5 rebounds a game as a senior.

HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah took him fifth overall in 2025 after he declined a pre-draft workout with the club, which president Austin Ainge called not uncommon. He signed on July 2 alongside fellow first-rounder Walter Clayton Jr.

Full name
Airious Bailey
Utah Jazz tenure
2025–26
Position
Forward
Born
2006, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Height
6′8″ (203 cm)
Weight
203 lb (92 kg)
College
Rutgers
Drafted
2025, 1st round (No. 5), Utah
Why this player is hard to find
Seventy-two games for Utah, one of the most talked-about picks of the 2025 draft. Cards are plentiful but command very strong prices.
Do you have anything signed by Ace Bailey?
A card, an index card, a photo, a program — anything authentic. I'm a collector building an autograph archive of every player in Utah Jazz history (319 of 370 so far). I cover postage both ways and answer every message.

✉️ contact@everyjazzman.com

With the Jazz

ACE BAILEY · 2025–26 · PER GAME
SEASONTEAMGMPGPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGFG%3P%FT%
2025–26UTA7227.613.84.21.80.80.7.443.344.750
JAZZ TOTAL1 SEASON7227.613.84.21.80.80.7.443.344.750

Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗  ·  Wikipedia ↗

Did you know

ACE BAILEY · 6 NOTES
  • His pre-draft process was among the most closely followed in recent years.
  • His given first name is Airious, though everyone calls him Ace.
  • His aunt Venus Lacy won Olympic gold with Team USA in 1996, and both his parents played college basketball.
  • His high school coach described him at signing as a Paul George mix, praising his rare size and skill.
  • He was the only American prospect in the 2025 draft class who did not work out individually for a single NBA club.
  • He did not reach Salt Lake City until June 28, five days after the draft, a delay the club said had always been the plan for its rookies.