Oct 8, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) controls the ball as Utah Jazz forward Ace Bailey (19) defends during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Jazz Rookie Ace Bailey Shines in Preseason Debut

Originally posted on NBA Draft on SI | By Latif Love | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 1:19 PM ET

On the first possession of Utah Jazz rookie Ace Bailey’s career, he came off a screen, took one dribble and calmly knocked in his first bucket.

The jumper foreshadowed what was to come in his preseason debut. Bailey finished with 25 points on 76 percent true shooting, and the vast majority of his buckets came in the same fashion as his first.

Jazz head coach Will Hardy ran multiple sets for Bailey to get looks where he could make quick decisions without taking many dribbles. The wing was extremely decisive when coming off screens or attacking close-outs and took no more than two dribbles on his 11 field goals.

Ace Bailey aced his @utahjazz preseason debut!

25 PTS (11-16 FGM)
6 REB
3 AST
2 STL
1 BLK

Quite a start for the No. 5 overall pick pic.twitter.com/CByKWtut76
— NBA (@NBA) October 9, 2025

It was the kind of outing that many envisioned when the Jazz selected Bailey with the fifth overall pick, and a clear sign that Hardy and the Jazz coaching staff know his strengths. During his lone season at Rutgers, Bailey scored 1.054 points per possession coming off screens (40.7 percent from three) and 1.4 points per possession on cuts.

However, Bailey's ability to score was common knowledge. His processing was the most impressive aspect of the rookie’s debut. The wing finished with three assists and made several solid reads in Utah’s offense to keep the ball moving.

Bailey was also active defensively. He did an excellent job moving his feet on the perimeter, made timely rotations and had two steals and a block. The rookie matched up with his idol, Kevin Durant, a few times, and Durant got the best of him, but Bailey didn’t make it easy.

Give the rookie Ace Bailey some credit here

He navigated the screen well and stuck with KD from nearly half-court all the way into the paint with good lateral quickness before contesting the shot

But what’s the saying again?

Oh yeah.

Good D. Better O pic.twitter.com/oy2HTNuLFv
— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) October 9, 2025

After the matchup, Durant spoke glowingly about Bailey.

“Dynamic player… I think he’s gonna be a helluva player,” Durant said in a post-game interview. “I love the coaching staff that he’s with. I love that he got drafted to Utah. Good development program over there. I’m expecting a big year and a big career from him, and tonight he showed what he can do.”

Bailey and the Jazz will look to continue the encouraging start to his career on Friday, when they travel to San Antonio to play the Spurs.

This article first appeared on NBA Draft on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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