Utah Jazz's Ace Bailey Receives Interesting Summer League Grade

The Utah Jazz didn't get to see a full slate of summer league action from their fifth-overall pick in Ace Bailey across their time in both Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, as the rookie wound up missing six of his eight total contests due to a hip injury, dampening a bit of the immediate hype to surround the Rutgers product.

However, even with a limited sample size, Bailey still appeared in two games, and in those two showings, he made some solid impressions. His first matchup was met with a few ups and downs in terms of his shooting efficiency, but when he began to really put things together against the Memphis Grizzlies, posting 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, it was clear things started to click for the rookie ahead of his injury.

And in the eyes of Bleacher Report's Dan Favale, while limited, it was still a very successful set of summer league performances from a big picture lens.

Favale recently broke down his grades for each of this year's rookies through their time in summer league, where Bailey landed a strong "B+" for his efforts in Salt Lake City, both as a scorer and as a standout rebounder.

"Bailey was at his best through two summer-league performances when he played within the flow of the Utah Jazz offense," Favale wrote. "It's cool that he has the size and confidence to get off fadeaway baseline Js and off-the-dribble threes, but it's even more of a relief to know he will fan out to the corners (where he sort of generates some no-dip action) and is going to make himself heard on the offensive glass."

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

"What turned out to be Bailey's final game of the summer was easily his best," he continued. "He didn't get enough credit for his defensive energy and glass-crashing in his debut against the Philadelphia 76ers, but the 18-point, seven-rebound, three-assist outing he delivered versus the Memphis Grizzlies offered a snapshot of pretty much the entire package."

"The 18-year-old has to show more as a passer. And he will need more dynamic modes of attack when he does go one-on-one. But it's hard to walk away from his brief summer-league stint feeling anything other than encouraged—in no small part because he didn't commit a single turnover through two games, despite getting reps on-ball."

It was far from perfect for Bailey through two showings, but enough to instill the confidence within the Jazz brass and fans that he was still the right selection to be made, even with all of the pre-draft chatter to included.

Ace Bailey in his 2nd SL game tonight vs the Grizzlies…

18 PTS (7-14 FG, 3-5 3PT)
7 REBS
3 AST

How we Feeling now Lol??? pic.twitter.com/3DNUl90tC9
— Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) July 8, 2025

Of course, all eyes will be on how Bailey takes that next step once the regular season gets rolling in October, and summer league is just summer league, but with what the fifth-overall pick has shown up to this point through the reps he's been given, he's been off to a solid start.

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