Utah Jazz’s Ace Bailey Earns Bold Rookie Season Prediction

The Utah Jazz might not be winning a ton of games this season, but in the process of that regular season grind, eyes will be locked onto how fifth-overall pick from this summer’s draft, Ace Bailey, pans out in his first year on the scene.

Through two full preseason showings, he’s already off to a hot start–– posting 20-plus points in both while shooting over 70% from the field, presenting a vast offensive skillset that proves he could be a high impact player in his first year pro.

And when asking ESPN’s Zach Kram, he seems to agree with that sentiment on Bailey, who, in the process of handing out one bold prediction to each team for the season ahead, didn’t hold back on his high hopes for the Jazz rookie.

“Ace Bailey will lead all rookies in scoring,” Kram predicted.

“That doesn’t mean he’ll make anywhere near the same all-around impact as Flagg, but as a starter for a bad team with a shoot-first mindset, Bailey will have the opportunity to rack up bushels of points. Bailey’s 45 points across his first two preseason games showed his potential as a first-year scorer.”

The idea of one of this draft class’ best offensive engines becoming the leader among all rookies in scoring wouldn’t too shocking to see on paper, but what are the odds that Bailey actually does it?

The opportunity is there. Multiple pieces of last year’s roster, like Collin Sexton, John Collins, and Jordan Clarkson, are out of the fold to extend the responsibility of guys like Bailey and other young names on the roster. Bailey, with his high draft stock and high ceiling, could cling onto those open shot opportunities quickly, and if he catches fire quickly, it might snowball into a big rookie season.

However, the bigger question for Bailey centers around whether he can overcome his surrounding class, which is filled with other high-potential guys that could make a similar year one dent in their respective situations.

Of course, Cooper Flagg with the Dallas Mavericks will claim a large share of that attention, but on a roster next to Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, and eventually Kyrie Irving, the shot volume isn’t quite as high as what Bailey could have.

Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe could get a good amount of looks their way as well, but with a top-tier guard-center duo on each of their squads, becoming the leading scorer among this rookie class could be high hopes.

Bailey, though, has the perfect combination of talent and the opportunity to make it happen.

That relies on the Jazz and head coach Will Hardy to rely on and bank on their young talent more early and often than they’ve seen through the first three seasons of their rebuild. But if done right, there’s absolutely a chance for Utah’s rookie to come out of the gates firing, even if the win-loss record doesn’t have that same appeal.

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