Ace Bailey Called Out for Draft Drama, Drawing Deion Sanders, Archie Manning Comparisons

In a surprising turn of events, Cooper Flagg was not the biggest storyline of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Although everyone knew he was going to be taken No. 1 overall by the Dallas Mavericks, most would have assumed that the draft coverage would have been focused on how great he is expected to be.

Instead, much of the draft was spent talking about the self-inflicted fall of Rutgers' Ace Bailey. The former five-star recruit who at one point was viewed as a challenger for the No. 1 pick skipped every workout in the build-up to the draft, as he and his team were attempting to manipulate the draft to land where they preferred.

Ultimately, the plan backfired. Not only did the Utah Jazz draft him No. 5 overall despite not being one of his preferred teams, but he also lost himself millions. 

His decision also led to him being put on blast by ESPN's Peter Rosenberg on Friday's "First Take," who compared his efforts to NFL draft cautionary tales, Deion Sanders and Archie Manning.

"The entitlement is corny to me," Rosenberg said. "The I'm going to work a way to dictate where I go. As if there's a place in this league where you're not gonna make tons of money to play basketball. Preference? Absolutely, that's just called being logical. But his team deserves a congratulations, you played yourselves. Cause you look ridiculous now.

"Now everyone knows you openly didn't want to go there and he ends up probably in the least desirable quote place you could end up. Whether your name's Archie Manning or Deion Sanders or you just have a team that's meddling, I don't think it's cool. I genuinely think it's whack."