Jazz's Will Hardy Calls Ace Bailey's Wizards Game His Best Yet

The Utah Jazz saw a pleasant surprise performance out of their fifth-overall pick Ace Bailey against the Washington Wizards on Thursday night; also effectively ending their extended seven-game losing streak dating back to before the All-Star break.

Bailey had a career-high 32 points throughout the night on 63.2% shooting from the field, had a career-high five threes made paired with two rebounds and two steals, also becoming the youngest player in Jazz franchise history to have scored 30 or more in a single game.

For Jazz head coach Will Hardy, such a performance from Bailey was enough for him to consider this game his biggest and best game as a pro, praising not just his ability to score the ball, but making good reads and decisions throughout the night as well.

“It was Ace’s best game as a pro on the offensive side, and a lot of it had to do with the 3-point line,” Hardy said. “He made a lot of good reads, especially coming off hand-offs on the second side, and finding those pocket threes, and knock 'em down tonight. It was a good win for our group.”

Will Hardy Loved Ace Bailey's Performance vs. Wizards

Coming off of Bailey's shaky previous performance in the first leg of a back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers, where he shot just 5-16 from the field for 12 points in a losing effort, he was able to bounce back in a major way for what Hardy now deems as his best performance as a pro.

A career night for Ace Bailey... 👀

The Jazz rookie has a season-high 26 points and 5 threes (and counting) against the Wizards 🔥pic.twitter.com/fakhtRdwQi
— Utah Jazz On SI (@JazzOnSI) March 6, 2026

In Hardy's mind, nights like Bailey showcased against the Wizards show that he's able to compartmentalize the bad games and moments, then continue to move forward for better showings.

"I think Ace is doing a good job of understanding that the games keep coming, and we need him to maintain his focus," Hardy continued. "He's starting for us, and he's playing a big role for us, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He's trying to learn all of the habits that it takes to contribute to winning."

"We don't want him to dwell on games that he doesn’t play his best. We want him to expect that there are going to be moments that don't go his way; games that don't go his way. So I think tonight for him to bounce back, I thought he had great energy early in the game. Obviously, making a few shots can help, but he made a lot of good reads tonight."

Mar 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards forward Leaky Black (14) defends in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Such a performance marks yet another strong outing that Bailey has made commonplace since moving past the All-Star break.

In his seven games played since February 20th, Bailey is now averaging an impressive 17.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 41.8% from the field and 37.5% from three. It might not be coming with much overwhelming success as a team, considering the Jazz are 1-6 through that stretch, but it's undoubtedly shown some key growth within Utah's budding rookie wing.

Bailey still has just over a month left to go in his first-year campaign to keep building on what he showed in Washington. And for as long as guys like Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen are sidelined as they were against the Wizards, that clears the way for Bailey to keep having big scoring nights as the de facto number one option on the offensive end.