Utah Jazz's Will Hardy Sends Clear Message on Ace Bailey

The Utah Jazz will head into the 2025-26 NBA season with one of the most exciting rookies they've had in the building within some time in the form of fifth-overall pick Ace Bailey.

Bailey, who comes into Utah as one of the most highly-touted college prospects of this draft class and the youngest player on the current Jazz roster, has buzz brewing around what the potential franchise star could put together as early as year one, and even some early looks as a possible Rookie of the Year candidate.

But what is Jazz head coach Will Hardy looking to see out of his top-five pick during his first year in the fold?

There's a few key points of emphasis Hardy wants to see Bailey hit in year one, both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, that he went on to discuss during Jazz media day.

"When it comes to what I want from Ace early on, we're going to have to focus on a couple of things," Hardy said.

"On the defensive side of the ball, he needs to use his length to be disruptive. He may be a little bit younger physically from a strength standpoint, but we've not had a wing with his size and length in this building in a long time...On the offensive side, it's going to be about making quick decisions. What shots he shoots, and what actions he runs"

But beyond those priorities on both sides of the floor, Hardy continued to dig a bit deeper into the the outlook for Bailey, where he revealed perhaps the biggest area of emphasis he wants his rookie keep at the forefront in year one: not applying too much pressure too early on.

"Those things will be changing a little bit, but I just want him to not apply too much pressure to himself to blow everyone away on the first day," Hardy continued.

"He's a really good player. He's really talented, and I have the utmost belief in that. We have the utmost belief in that, and I know there's a lot of excitement around Ace. But what I don't want for him is to fall into this moment of trying to live up to the hype on the first day."

Bailey might have the brightest spotlight of any Jazz rookie in recent history, with Donovan Mitchell likely being the closest match to the caliber of buzz the fifth-overall pick has generated. Expectations are high, but those same lofty expectations can also lead to disappointment if not meeting those standards.

And for a young, 19 year old rookie, it's easy to set those expectations too high when factoring in every circumstance. Bailey's still raw as an overall NBA product, will be on a team likely sitting near the bottom of the NBA standings, and will need a bit of extra time to truly fill into his ceiling.