Ace Bailey Picks Unusual Jersey Number with Utah Jazz

The newest member of the Jazz will wear No. 19 in his first season.

Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Ace Bailey looks on after being selected as the fifth pick by the Utah in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Ace Bailey is a member of the Utah Jazz and is happy about it.

Bailey reported to the team ahead of cam on Monday and chose an interesting number to wear as a rookie.

Over the weekend, the Jazz shared the number chose from the former Rutgers Scarlet Knight. Bailey will wear No. 19 in the NBA.

🏔️ @AiriousB will wear #19 🏔️#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/dB8WBFbjpE

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 30, 2025

Bailey wore No. 4 in high school and his lone season at Rutgers. This number is retired by the Jazz in honor of Adrian Dantley. Bailey will now sport No. 19 for Utah.

The Jazz selected Bailey with the fifth-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night. After an unorthodox pre-draft process, Bailey was taken in the top five.

There were talks that he was unhappy with landing in Utah but spoke against this during his press conference.

"I was excited to see what the practice facility was like," Bailey said. "It's great scenery. As soon as I got off the plane, I didn't think the mountains were real."

The Jazz felt comfortable with selecting Bailey at No. 5 despite rumors that they were not among preferred destinations.

"We do a lot of background calls and work on guys, and everyone loves being around Ace," Utah's president of basketball operations Austin Ainge said.

Bailey averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in his only season with the Scarlet Knights. He shot 46% from the field and 34.6% from three-point range. At 6-foot-10, Bailey showed an incredible skillset that includes handling the ball like a guard and creating his own shot.