Ace Bailey leaves NBA fans questioning – Is his talent driven by Genius or Discipline?
The NBA Draft begins on Wednesday, June 25 at 8 p.m. ET. This gives prospects limited time to try to strut their stuff and impress teams enough to be selected as highly as possible.
While it does seem like the rest of the draft prospects are competing to be No. 2 behind Duke’s Cooper Flagg, there are still intriguing prospects in this year’s class. Rutgers star freshman Ace Bailey is hoping to become the first top-five pick in school history. Bailey was the No. 2 player in the 2025 class, and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and Third-team All-Big Ten.
Bailey was consistently mocked during the season as a top-three pick in the NBA Draft, but as it nears, he isn’t doing himself any favors. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding him, although it has solely pertained to how he acts during workouts and the fact that he hasn’t scheduled any interviews with teams. It has franchises scratching their heads, and many are wondering what is going on behind the scenes with Bailey and his agent, or if this is just an attempt to avoid being selected early by a bad team.
Here is more on why Bailey’s NBA Draft stock could be falling.
Why is Ace Bailey skipping workouts?
Ahead of the actual draft, prospects will undergo workouts at the NBA Draft Combine and also participate in private workouts for interested teams. Part of the private workouts includes interviews, so teams can ensure that the player fits the team’s culture and will be additive rather than combative with the way the team operates.
With less than a week to go until the draft, ESPN reported that Bailey hasn’t scheduled any workouts. In fact, Bailey’s camp has gone as far as to cancel or decline workouts offered.
Per ESPN, “Bailey’s predraft workout strategy has perplexed some observers, as he has yet to conduct a single known workout to date, having declined invitations from several teams within his draft range.” Sources also told ESPN that Bailey’s camp believes he is a top-three player, thinking that interested teams will trade up to get him.
It feels like this is a combination of Bailey trying to avoid going to a bad team that is rebuilding or where he won’t see minutes, while also maybe hearing from teams lower in the top-10 that they will draft him if he falls. Bailey was scheduled to work out with the 76ers – who currently hold the No. 3 pick – but cancelled it.
Being a top option also brings with it a lot of scrutiny. Sources told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that Bailey is considered immature, but not in a super negative way — mainly that he is very on-brand for being an 18-year-old. He is known to “dance in drill lines”, which could have teams thinking that he isn’t ready to be a professional.
While it sounds like that isn’t a big deal, cancelling the interviews doesn’t give him the chance to show his professionalism or counter the immaturity claims with teams.
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Who is Ace Bailey’s agent?
Bailey’s agent is Omar Cooper. He is the CEO and founder of LifeStyle Sports Agency. Bailey is one of only three clients, along with Babatunde Akingbola and Tariq Francis. Akingbola is an unrestricted free agent in the NBA, and Francis is draft-eligible in 2027.
Cooper reportedly wanted to get paid to do on-camera interviews this past season, per Jeff Goodman. Many analysts feel that Bailey is getting some bad advice from Cooper.
LifeStyle Sports Agency has reportedly said that they want Bailey to play for a team on the East Coast, geographically between Atlanta and New York, per Pompey. Looking at the NBA geographical map below and assuming the agency is being literal, that means that they want Bailey to land with the Hawks, Hornets, Wizards, 76ers, Nets or Knicks. Notably, the 76ers, Hornets and Nets all have picks in the top-8.
Ace Bailey NBA Draft
Bailey was consistently considered a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. With Flagg all but assured to go No. 1, all eyes are on the Spurs and what they’re going to do at No. 2. NBA.com has Bailey’s consensus mock draft going to the Hornets with the No. 3 overall pick.
The guard was previously linked most with the 76ers, but the assumption now is that the cancelled workout would negatively impact how Philadelphia views him.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony – who had the report on Bailey cancelling and declining workouts – had Bailey falling to the Wizards at No. 6.
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