Hornets face off against Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz in their first Summer League game

UPDATE: Ace Bailey (right hip flexor soreness) has been ruled out for tonight's game.

After three long months, there is finally Charlotte Hornets basketball again. The team will face off against the fifth overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, Ace Bailey, and the Utah Jazz at 7:00 PM EST tonight on ESPN in the NBA's Summer League.

The Hornets will be playing in their first preseason game, while Utah will be playing in their third since July 5th. The Jazz have gotten some sense of what to expect out of their squad so far, going 3-0 during their three games. The veteran guys, Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh, and Isaiah Collier, have done the majority of the work for the Jazz, leading the way for the squad.

For the Hornets, it's their first opportunity to see the four new rookies: Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James, and Ryan Kalkbrenner. It's an excellent opportunity for the squad to prove they are NBA-ready already, and can be impactful rotation players in year one. As for the others, KJ Simpson will look to build off a solid rookie season, and all eyes will be on whether or not last year's sixth overall selection, Tidjane Salaun, made the jump that people were hoping for.

Salaun is definitely not the only player Hornets fans have an eye on...

Key Matchup: Ace Bailey vs. Kon Knueppel

...because of who is on the other side.

After one of the most talked about pre-draft process' in recent NBA memory, Rutgers forward Ace Bailey successfully tanked his value past the Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets, and landed into the Utah Jazz' laps.

Bailey was someone who many Hornets fans admired and hoped the team would select; however, the squad went with Duke's Kon Knueppel. After last year, Hornets fans want to see their top selection hit immediately and be able to produce. This is the chance to be able to see how the fourth overall pick will do against the other guys in his range, as the squad faces off against the other top selections in the coming weeks.

Projected Starting Lineups

Position	Charlotte Hornets	Utah Jazz
Point Guard	KJ Simpson	Isaiah Collier
Shooting Guard	Sion James	Brice Sensabaugh
Small Forward	Kon Knueppel	Ace Bailey
Power Forward	Tidjane Salaun	Cody Williams
Center	Ryan Kalkbrenner	Kyle Filipowski

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