UCLA Guard Amari Bailey Goes to Charlotte Hornets in NBA Draft
Another Bruin has come off the board.
The Charlotte Hornets selected UCLA men's basketball guard Amari Bailey with the No. 41 overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night. Following a successful freshman year with the Bruins, Bailey joins Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball as the only one-and-done guards to come out of Westwood in the past 10 years.
Bailey was the second UCLA product to hear his name called Thursday, with wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. going to the Miami Heat at No. 18 overall. Guard Jaylen Clark later went No. 53 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves, giving the Bruins three players picked in a single NBA Draft for the first time since 2017.
Charlotte adds Bailey to a backcourt that already featured Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball – Lonzo's brother who was committed to UCLA before he opted to play professionally overseas in late 2017. Bailey is the highest-rated recruit to join the Bruins over the past few cycles, and his pedigree could have only been matched by the youngest Ball brother.
The Hornets also took Alabama forward Brandon Miller with the No. 2 overall pick earlier on Thursday.
As a McDonald's All-American out of Sierra Canyon (CA), Bailey averaged 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 26.9 minutes per game this past year. Bailey shot 49.5% from the field and 38.9% from deep on the season, drawing the start in 28 of his 30 appearances.
Bailey was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week four times – more than any other player – and he earned one of the five spots on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team at the end of the year despite missing most of January with a foot injury. Across his six total postseason appearances in the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments, Bailey averaged 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game on .561/.467/.821 shooting splits.
Between that late-season surge and an impressive showing at the NBA Draft Combine – during which he averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game on 58.3% shooting from the field – Bailey crawled up draft boards and all but confirmed that he would earn a guaranteed deal at the next level.
Point guard Tyger Campbell and guard David Singleton went undrafted, and will now look to sign G League or summer league deals in the coming days.
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