Ace Bailey Sends Message to Giannis After Jazz Take Rutgers Star No. 5 in NBA Draft

The Utah Jazz selected Rutgers guard Ace Bailey with the fifth pick in the NBA draft.

Afterward he spoke with ESPN's Monica McNutt for a quick interview.

First, McNutt asked Bailey how he could be so "cool and confident in this moment" given all the outside noise about his pre-draft process.

"I have a great circle that maintains the outside world while I just focus on the basketball part, so I just thank them every day," Bailey responded.

Then McNutt mentioned how Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo have given Bailey public "props," with the latter player showing him some moves. McNutt asked Bailey if he was ready to use those moves on Antetokounmpo when he gets to Utah.

"Oh for sure, I got some more stuff for him for sure," Bailey said.

After the pick, ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported that the team was keeping Bailey.

Bailey played one season at Rutgers, averaging 17.6 points on 46.0 percent shooting (34.6 percent from three). He also added 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

The 6'10" guard entered college as one of the most-hyped prospects in the nation. Cooper Flagg was the top player in the 2024 class, but Bailey and guard Dylan Harper rounded out the top three.

Both Bailey and Harper went to Rutgers and excelled on individual levels. Rutgers, unfortunately, did not follow suit and ended up going just 15-17 (8-12 in the Big Ten).

However, that didn't have an effect on Bailey's draft stock, which remained sky high going into the offseason.

What did have an effect was a reaction to how his pre-draft process has gone. Rumors dropped about Bailey declining a visit to the Philadelphia 76ers, who picked third.

"Bailey's predraft strategy has perplexed NBA teams over the past month, as he is currently the only U.S.-based prospect yet to visit any clubs," ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Shams Charania reported on June 18.

"He has declined invitations from multiple teams in his draft range, which is considered to be anywhere from No. 3 to No. 8."

Givony later added on Monday that he also rejected overtures from the Charlotte Hornets at No. 4 and the Jazz at No. 5 and was instead looking toward potentially going to the Washington Wizards at No. 6, the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 7 or the Brooklyn Nets at No. 8.

Still, Bailey was highly regarded going into the draft. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report ranked Bailey seventh overall on his big board.

"Overall, few forwards in the class match Bailey’s combination of size and scoring skill. He showed touch on his floaters at Rutgers, and he finished plays around the rim using his length and athleticism all season," Wasserman wrote in part.

And in the end, Utah did end up selecting Bailey, who didn't slide out of the top five.