Ace Bailey Dazzles Fans in NBA Preseason Debut, Scores 25 for Jazz vs. Durant, Rockets

The Ace Bailey era in Utah is off to a hot start.

The Jazz rookie had a tremendous preseason debut, putting up 25 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block on an efficient 11-of-16 from the field as Utah came up short against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets, 140-127.

While it's only the preseason, the No. 5 overall pick lived up to, and likely exceeded the hype surrounding him ahead of his debut. Jazz fans believe they have struck gold by landing Bailey.

Bailey, who spent his lone college season at Rutgers, was one of the best freshmen in the country last year, putting up 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Scarlet Knights. He was widely projected to be a top-three pick in the draft, but saw his draft stock slide for a multitude of reasons after his time at Rutgers.

The Jazz ultimately decided to take a chance on him despite other teams' concerns, and so far, that is proving to be a good decision.

Wednesday was a small sample size, but a strong debut is a good sign of what's to come from Bailey.