Why Ace Bailey is the most polarizing view in the NBA design of 2025 and where the Rutgers star would best fit

Rutgers Star Ace Bailey is not the best player in the NBA design of 2025. This award would go to Dukes Cooper Flag – projected number 1 in the draft next month. Bailey is not even the best draft perspective of his own college team. Dylan Harper, Bailey's former five-star teammate at Rutgers, is expected to be selected to the San Antonio Spurs with number 2 according to Flagg.

Bailey's overall game has been a hot topic since autumn when he started his college career at Rutgers as one of the most prominent recruits of the program next to Harper. Despite Harper and Bailey, Rutgers will be the first college team this summer that misses the NCAA tournament with two top five prospects on the roster.

To be dull, Bailey is the most polarizing player in the design, with a wide range of his game in between. Some say that Bailey is the next Kevin Durant, while other experts believe that he has the greatest chance of not doing justice to his hype.

Baileys upward trend is an emauring. He is an experienced bullet maker who is able not to make shots from a distance of 20 feet or to hit a turnaround fadaway near the basket with several defenders. His ceiling in the Draft Night begins with the Philadelphia 76ers with selection No. 3, but it is difficult to see how he falls in 6th place at the Washington Wizards.

The most polarizing view from the last design cycle was Purdue Star Big Man Zach Edey for various reasons. Some thought that Edey was a late choice in the first round, while others, like the Memphis Grizzlies, believed that he was worthy of a top 10 selection. Scouts, NBA decision -makers, media members and NBA/College basketball fans were divided what Edey could be on the next level. EDEY was one of the most dominant college basketball players of the modern era, but the prepared concerns about how his skills were translated to the next level.

Bailey has the potential to be a superstar in the NBA. If you are curious, why it is so polarizing or how it could fit in team in the early part of the design, we will answer these following questions.

Baileys upward trend is one of the best in the class

Find Good Design comparisons for upcoming designs can have headaches. The comparison that occurred to me when I played Bailey for the first time before he had registered with Rutgers last autumn, the nuggets striker Michael Porter JR. Both players are great shot.

Bailey had a more successful (short) college career as a porter. If you look at the history of the band, your anthropometric data is similar.

measurement	Michael Porter Jr.	Ace Bailey
Height (no shoes)	6-9.5 “	6-7.5
Weight	211 LBS	202.8 LBS
span	7-0.25	7-0.5
Standing range	9-0.5	8-11

Porter played only three games for an injury during the 2017-18 season. Porter was a projected top three election that came from the high school, but fell in the design evening due to injury concerns until the end of the lottery at Pick No. 14. Porter achieved an average of 16.2 points and 6.4 rebounds during his six-year NBA career.

Bailey can be a productive goal scorer at the next level. That is what NBA decision-makers will buy to make him a top five choice. His shooting diet at Rutgers was sometimes questionable, but he managed to make some of Jumpers' toughest.

“The shots on which I work in workouts are shots that I am playing in the game,” said Bailey reporters during the NBA -draft combination this week. “What could be a bad shot for you, you don't work on it. I work on it.”

According to Synergy, Bailey tried 81 Springer last season. He made 39 of 81 (48.1%) of these attempts. Bailey shot 10 out of 33 (30.3%) in unguarded jumpers. His choice of firing came mainly from the mid -range, since 62.5% of his field attempts were Springer.

Bailey measured shorter than expected

Bailey was listed on his official organic page at Rutgers at 6-foot-10. Bailey measured 6-7.5 without shoes at the NBA design at the beginning of this week. There were concerns that Bailey would measure shorter than expected, and that was what came into play.

Like my colleague Kyle Boone from the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago wrote At the beginning of this week, several people shared the same feeling that he would be neglected if it was time to be measured.

I don't think his measurement will lead to it sinking. Outside of Flagg and Harper, No. 3-10 in the design are wide open. The LAST year -year -draft lessons was consistently full of uncertainty. This year it will begin when the 76s get to the clock at Pick No. 3.

The success of the team was missing during his time at Rutgers

As I wrote this spring, Rutgers fumbled his most talented roster in the program history. It is not unusual that a projected top five election never plays at the NCAA tournament because your team is bad. This has happened several times in the past 10 years. But for two potential top three picks a total of 15-17 and do you completely miss the NCAA tournament? That never happened.

Ten teams in the modern recruitment period have landed two high school outlines in the top 5 of their respective class. Nine of these teams reached the NCAA tournament (the Dukes 2024-25 team is the other).

Bailey and Harper were both individually fantastic and their draft shares was determined despite the lack of success of the team. Will these concerns deal in the draft of the night? Maybe, but probably not. Harper is almost guaranteed No. 2 and it would be a shock if Bailey falls drastically at night.

Thoughts about how Bailey fits lottery teams

Baileys draft range should be between the selection no. 3 and 6 in the Draft Night. His ceiling begins for 3rd place with the 76s, and it is difficult to see how he drives past the wizards. Here are some thoughts about how Bailey fits these potential teams.

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No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers

In my last bill, I had Bailey No. 3 to the 76s. A team with several all-stars on the squad can rarely select at the top of the design, but that is exactly what happened.

Of all the teams listed here, Bailey would be an ideal attack on the 76s to immediately contribute to the profit. Bailey will not feel the pressure to score in bundles, as he had to do with Rutgers last season. There is the possibility that he will not even crack the starting line -up on the opening evening. The 76 can go into several directions, but this could be the perfect marriage.

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No. 4 Charlotte Hornets

I would not blame the Hornets that I took the potential best player on the board at this point, but this would be strange for both parties. Charlotte's greatest need is a defensive guard that can play off-ball next to Lamelo Ball. The player who fits perfectly with this description is Baylors VJ Edgecombe, not Bailey.

I could see that this fit works in the long term when the Hornets Brandon Miller push to SG. You could insert Bailey into the starting line -up as an SF and play him and Miller next to ball. This plan could be thrown out of the window if the hornets act against ball at some point, but Edgecomb makes more sense than Bailey.

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No. 5 Utah Jazz

The jazz hoped to win the flag competition. This plan was thrown out of the window after it was selected by the potential No. 1 up to No. 5. There is still a way for jazz to secure a franchise change here, and if Bailey is available, Utah should select it and find out the long-term fit later.

Utah only paid Lauri Markkanen a lot of money in the past off -season. He is justified this summer based on trade, but if Utah did not handle it last year when Markkanen's value was at his peak and his contract was much smaller, why should you do it now? The jazz has a crowded front square with Markkanen, John Collins, Kyle Filipowski and Walker Kessler. You would think that at least one of these players will not be on the list next season. Conclusion? Utah needs talent. Bailey fits this bill.

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No. 6 Washington Wizards

Washington did things right at the end of the season. I wrote at the beginning of this month that all teams in the lottery came out, The wizards were most deserved to win the design of the lottery and to secure the services of flag. Obviously that didn't happen, but Bailey could still play in 6th place – depending on what the other teams in front of Washington do in the Draft Night.

Similar to Utah, Washington needs talent on his squad. Alex Sarr will be a very good defender in the NBA. You can say the same thing about Bilal Coulibaly, someone I am very optimistic about. Outside the 76, Bailey in Washington could be my second fit on this list. There is a happy medium for him to go to a team in which he can dismantle his shot while he is part of a franchise that could be on the rise in the coming years.