{"id":162015,"date":"2025-10-09T11:48:52","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=162015"},"modified":"2025-10-09T11:48:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:48:52","slug":"oft-criticized-jazz-rookie-ace-bailey-preseason-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/09\/oft-criticized-jazz-rookie-ace-bailey-preseason-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Oft-Criticized Jazz Rookie Aces Preseason Debut, What It Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

Utah Jazz rookie Ace Bailey<\/a> couldn’t have played much better than he did in his preseason debut, in which he would face idol Kevin Durant<\/a> and the Houston Rockets. Listed as a 6-foot-8 shooting guard or a 6-foot-10 small forward, the 2025 No. 5 pick started alongside Keyonte George<\/a> in the backcourt. He got the scoring started right away, coming off a screen from Jusuf Nurkic<\/a> and stepping into 2-point attempt in the middle of the free-throw circle.<\/p>\n

Oft-Criticized Jazz Rookie Ace Bailey Aces Preseason Debut<\/h2>\n

Bailey’s next points wouldn’t come until the second quarter, as he spun away from the defense to take a short mid-range attempt.<\/p>\n

Cash.<\/p>\n

The next time down, Bailey came off a pin-down from Nurkic to take a middie.<\/p>\n

Cash.<\/p>\n

Then, Jazz head coach Will Hardy showed off his familiarity with the clipboard. While Bailey was setting a stagger screen with Nurkic, he was able to free himself up for an easy dunk.<\/p>\n

\n

Ace Bailey aced his @utahjazz<\/a> preseason debut!<\/p>\n

25 PTS (11-16 FGM)
\n6 REB
\n3 AST
\n2 STL
\n1 BLK<\/p>\n

Quite a start for the No. 5 overall pick \ud83d\udc40 pic.twitter.com\/CByKWtut76<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n