Ace Bailey Names Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Paul George as His NBA Player Comps

Rutgers star Ace Bailey models his offensive game after a trio of standout NBA scorers.

At the NBA draft combine, Bailey cited the Philadelphia 76ers' Paul George and Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum as inspirations for their shot creation. He also loves the mid-range ability of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant:

Others have drawn the comparison between Bailey and Durant specifically.

Bailey is listed at 6'10", so he seemingly shared a similar frame to the 6'11" 15-time All-Star. At the combine, however, he measured in at a little over 6'7" without shoes on.

Still, the Scarlet Knights wing has received an endorsement from Durant himself:

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman was more modest when listing off the NBA parallels for Bailey in his most recent mock draft. He pointed to two-time All-Star Rashard Lewis, Charlotte Hornets second-year star Brandon Miller and the Denver Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr.

"Scouts sound mostly willing to look past Ace Bailey's questionable shot selection and tunnel vision for the advantage created by 6'10" size and special shotmaking skill," Wasserman wrote.

"The bar was ultra high coming in, and teams aren't likely to over nitpick an 18-year-old who possesses his unique ingredients for on/off-ball scoring potential."

Bailey averaged 17.6 points on 46 percent shooting as a freshman at Rutgers. Expecting him to be a scorer on par with Durant and even Tatum or George is asking a lot because no prospect is guaranteed to become an All-NBA talent. He certainly has the skills necessary to reach that level, though.