The NBA made sure to capture all of the special moments of Ace Bailey’s NBA Draft night. The former Rutgers star was mic’d up for Wednesday’s big event.
The league’s Instagram account gave fans a look into Bailey’s draft night experience. It included his interactions with other top prospects and his reaction to being drafted No. 5 overall to the Utah Jazz.
”Man, I’m in the NBA bro,” Bailey said after being drafted. “I’m in the NBA don’t even sound real. I’m just blessed to be here.”
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Before being drafted, Bailey chatted with his fellow recruits, including VJ Edgecombe and former Scarlet Knights teammate Dylan Harper. Bailey helped Edgecombe clean something off the shoulder of his suit, and the two compared their blinged-out watches and red-bottom shoes.
”It’s a glitter party out here man,” Bailey said of the watches.
In the clip, Bailey also reacted to Harper being drafted No. 2 overall to the San Antonio Spurs.
”Yeah my boy!,” Bailey cheered when Harper was drafted. “I’m about to cry with him.”
Ace Bailey drafted to Utah Jazz despite refusal to work out with team
Ace Bailey’s pre-draft process was anything but ordinary. The Rutgers standout was the only U.S. prospect who had not visited any NBA team facility ahead of the draft.
Bailey refused workout invitations from the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz, who had the third, fourth and fifth picks, respectively.
Despite his lack of communication with teams, Bailey’s camp said it was “confident going into the draft process.” This led analysts to believe that the wing had been in contact with a team outside of the top five who had promised to draft him and offered an appealing long-term plan for his future development.
What team Bailey was hoping to go will likely remain a mystery, as the Jazz selected Bailey with the No. 5 overall pick despite his lack of interest in Utah during the pre-draft process.
Bailey opened up about his feelings on being selected by Utah.
“I control what I control,” Bailey said after being drafted. “How they feel (is) how they feel. But my team and me, just me focusing on the basketball and them doing what they doing, it happens.”
Here is a sampling from Ace Bailey’s press conference at the NBA Draft tonight. @utahjazz @AiriousB pic.twitter.com/BbyCQ3tIKk
— Dana Greene (@dana_greene) June 26, 2025
Bailey’s approach to the predraft process backfired, and the former Rutgers wing will now find himself in Utah for his rookie campaign.
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