Ace Bailey Reportedly Hasn't Insisted on 76ers Promising They'll Draft Him Amid Rumors

Former Rutgers star Ace Bailey has not "insisted" on a guarantee that the Philadelphia 76ers will select him with the No. 3 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.

Fischer's report comes amid speculation as to why Bailey reportedly canceled a planned visit with the Sixers on Friday.

Bailey cancelled two days before he was scheduled to fly to Philadelphia for a dinner and private workout, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Shams Charania.

The Sixers had already booked flights, hotels and dinners in preparation for the visit, according to PHLY's Kyle Neubeck.

It remains "unlikely" the 76ers will move down from No. 3, and the team has "not ruled out" using the pick to draft Bailey, according to Givony and Charania.

Prior to the cancellation of the visit, Givony and Jeremy Woo reported for ESPN that some NBA teams were questioning "whether Bailey has received assurances of being selected by a team currently outside the top five, to a situation deemed more advantageous from a geographic and playing time perspective."

"Sources say Bailey's camp has informed interested teams that they believe he is a top-3 player in the draft, but also seeks a clear pathway to stardom, perhaps feeling comfortable that a team will trade up to get him at Nos. 3 or 4, should he drop," Givony wrote.

Givony and Charania noted that Bailey is the only U.S.-based prospect who has yet to visit any NBA teams, and that he has turned down multiple invites from teams with top-eight picks in the upcoming draft.

Bailey is considered one of the most talented prospects in the draft behind Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, but Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman predicted in his latest mock draft that the Rutgers standout will slip down to No. 6 because of "his shot selection and answers to certain questions at the NBA combine."

The 2025 NBA draft is set to kick off next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in Brooklyn.