Inside The Jazz

Dwyane Wade Had Three-Word Reaction to Utah Jazz's Draft

The Hall of Famer and minority Utah Jazz owner sounded off on the team's draft.
Jared Koch|
Nov 19, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Jazz minority owner Dwyane Wade with majority owner Ryan Smith (left) watch game action against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Nov 19, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Jazz minority owner Dwyane Wade with majority owner Ryan Smith (left) watch game action against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz have wrapped up their action within the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, bringing in a pair of intriguing prospects with Rutgers' Ace Bailey at pick five, along with a move to trade up and select Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. at 18.

Overall, a productive, and exciting outcome for the Jazz–– and one that even caught some notable attention from Utah minority owner and basketball legend Dwyane Wade in a post on X.

Wade had a simple three words to deliver to the Jazz: "I love it!!!!"

Wade has been a part of the Jazz's ownership group since April 2021, and has been in the background, whether it be appearing courtside at a few games in Utah across the season, or perhaps showing support to a strong draft class.

The Jazz made two big waves on Wednesday, first with their decision to pick up Bailey at fifth-overall amid the weeks-long turbulence surrounding his draft stock, along with a big move to trade up with the Washington Wizards, moving up to 18 and landing the national champion in Clayton Jr.

And clearly, Wade is a fan of the front office's decisions–– especially so when it comes to their move for Bailey.

"When you can get a player as talented as ACE with the 5th pick you don’t over think it, you do it! Good job @utahjazz," Wade said in another post.

This time around, the Jazz's operations were spearheaded by new president of basketball operations, Austin Ainge, from the Boston Celtics, alongside the usual crew of Justin Zanik, Will Hardy, Ryan Smith, and Danny Ainge, walking out of night one, making a statement.

Ahead of the draft, the Jazz didn't even work out either Bailey or Clayton Jr. before picking them up in their pair of top-20 selections. Clearly, that didn't seem to factor into their decision-making much at all.

Utah will have one more selection left at their disposal on day two of the draft in the second round at pick 53, following their decision to trade pick 43 to Washington in their deal for Clayton Jr.

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Jared Koch
JARED KOCH

Jared Koch is the deputy editor of Utah Jazz On SI. He's covered the NBA and NFL for the past two years, contributing to Denver Broncos On SI, Indianapolis Colts On SI, and Sacramento Kings On SI. He has covered multiple NBA and NFL events on site, and his works have also appeared on Bleacher Report, MSN, and Yahoo.

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