As a potential NBA prospect, you would relish the chance of creating a good early impression with the team you are set to go to, right? Lay a good foundation so that your potential next 10-15 years in the top basketball league get the best start? Well, Ace Bailey did not just lay an improper foundation; he uprooted the ground beneath it. The speculated 3rd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft recently made headlines for cancelling a visit to meet and have a private workout with the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, two NBA experts seem to have found the reason behind this refusal.

NBA reporter Kevin O’Connor and National writer Tom Haberstroh touched base on the NBA Finals and the upcoming draft during a recent episode of The Kevin O’Connor Show.’ Haberstroh asked his co-host if he thought Ace Bailey would be “just heartbroken” at the current moment. He highlighted hearing the rumors of him being pushed out of the Number 3 spot. This led the national writer to ask whether any other patterns in Bailey’s career pointed to his mentality.

“I can’t look at that the way that he plays basketball, and the way that the Rutgers and the supporting cast wasn’t there for Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. But still, I mean, maybe I’m connecting two dots that shouldn’t be connected,” said Haberstroh. “But it still feels like a guy like that just can’t, I just’ can’t put him in this kind of an NBA Finals environment. I just can’t imagine a guy who is that kind of low IQ player, who is not able to get to the cup, doesn’t play defense, and is kind of this molded clay”.

As Yahoo! Sports’ Jack Baer highlighted, Bailey’s camp has reportedly told teams that the Rutgers star wants to land with a franchise that will give him plenty of minutes from the start. Falling past the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3 and the Charlotte Hornets at No. 4 will make some other teams aggressive in their bid to get him, and negotiations may eventually involve playing time. Judging from this, and what Tom Haberstroh said, the 76ers’ sabotage does seem to work in favor of the player.

With Haberstroh connecting the dots that shouldn’t have been, one sees a pattern forming. During his time at Rutgers, Ace Bailey was reportedly known for making defensive plays where he would dash in for a chase-down block, or weak-side block off help. As Desert News’ reporter Sarah Todd highlighted, sometimes it felt Bailey was making those plays “to the detriment of his own defensive assignment”.

His own. He has been described as someone who “loves to have the ball in his hands”, and the same affects his shot selection. In a sport where players need to be part of a team, Bailey seems to want to go his way.

Sure, not every great NBA athlete was a team-oriented player. Michael Jordan is one example of that. However, Ace Bailey is not Michael Jordan. His alleged pursuit of individual performance won’t earn him love from the league, let alone the fans. After all, the player is letting go of a chance to get guidance from veterans who can help him, all for allegedly selfish reasons.

Kevin O’Connor highlights Ace Bailey’s unwillingness to develop under stars as a ‘red-flag’

In ‘The Last Dance’ documentary, Scottie Pippen recalled how, despite being full of confidence as a rookie, he realized “You’re not the top guy on the basketball team anymore” after being drafted to the Chicago Bulls. That lesson goes for every basketball player who transitions from high school to college, or college to the NBA. After all, in the top league, you are competing against the best of the best. To thrive, you have to take guidance from those star veterans who have been through it too. By rejecting the Philadelphia 76ers, however, Ace Bailey denied himself this chance.

In the same episode of The Kevin O’Connor Show, the host highlighted that Bailey seems to be “a guy who fancies himself an on-ball dominant guy”. Due to this, he does not see himself adjusting to teams like Indiana or OKC style, teams that prefer movement and quick passing. Instead, he allegedly prefers teams such as the Nets or Wizards, where he can become the star player.

“And to me, that inherently is a red flag, when you can say he could play for the Sixers who, whatever you want to say about Joel Embiid, whatever you want to say about him, the Sixers are better suited to contend early on in Ace Bailey’s career,” said O’Connor. “And the fact he wouldn’t want to go there to play with him, Embiid, and Maxey and Jared McCain, and a bunch of really good role players, and contribute to winning, to me that’s a red flag. And it says a lot about his mindset and his approach, and that’s concerning to me”.

Not everyone is a Victor Wembanyama or a Caitlin Clark who can become the face of a franchise just after being drafted. Ace Bailey is setting up some big expectations for himself. If it doesn’t work out, the player may end up suffering in the long term.