Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Ace Bailey stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the fifth pick by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz Exec Dismisses Ace Bailey Skipping Workouts

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 8:53 PM ET

The Utah Jazz made their long-awaited selection at fifth overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, selecting Rutgers star Ace Bailey–– one of this year's most highly-touted and talked about names at the top of the board outside of top pick Cooper Flagg.

Among the draft buzz and frenzy with Bailey during the days and weeks ahead of Wednesday, one storyline to surrounding him and his pre-draft process was his hesitancy to workout with teams across the top-five of the draft, a pool that included the Jazz themselves who didn't bring the Rutgers' wing into the building before taking him at pick five.

But when asking Jazz president of basketball ops, Austin Ainge, Bailey's decision isn't one that's been super uncommon throughout his time drafting in the NBA.

"It's not super uncommon," Ainge said of prospects skipping workouts. Been through it many times through the years. We were able to meet with Ace at the combine and speak to him in person, and obviously saw him play a lot–– being a highly-rated high school player and college player. So, we got to see him quite a bit."

Bailey certainly had an interesting pre-draft process compared to the rest of his class, as he was the only U.S. prospect to not attend any workouts with a team before Wednesday's first round, and betting on his representation's strategy to get him to their reported preferred destination.

Regardless of whether the Jazz was where Bailey and his team aspired to end up, Utah was the one to submit their draft card for him, and they seemed pretty confident in the decision to do so, considering they hadn't gone blind in their scouting of the Rutgers' wing; meeting face-to-face at Chicago's Combine, and had months of tape to review of his one year in the college ranks.

Moments after being taken 5th by the #UtahJazz in the #NBADraft Ace Bailey told NBC that "it's a great opportunity" for him to come play for the Jazz.#TakeNote @KSLSports pic.twitter.com/XzWreJuqek
— Sam Farnsworth (@Samsworth_TV) June 26, 2025

During his one season at Rutgers, the 6-foot-9 wing appeared in 30 total games to average 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists a night while shooting 46.0% from the field and 34.6% from three.

Now, Bailey finds his way to Utah next to fellow first-rounder Walter Clayton Jr. to become key figures of this Jazz rebuild moving forward.