Ace Bailey turned a lot of heads on draft night because of his seemingly disappointed reaction after being selected fifth overall by the Jazz. With “no idea” that Utah was interested in him, the Rutgers star was taken aback by the decision. Once the initial shock wore off, Bailey claimed he was “blessed” to be a part of the organization. And focus immediately shifted to how the youngster performs in the Summer League. But Ace’s NBA journey has unfortunately taken another early hit with an unexpected setback.

Turns out, Bailey has been ruled out of tonight’s Las Vegas Summer League encounter against the Hornets. Reason? Hip flexor soreness. This is the second straight game the forward will miss as he was also sidelined for the final game in Salt Lake. That’s a massive blow for the fans who were looking forward to the highly anticipated encounter between Bailey and Hornets’ number 4 pick Kon Knueppel.

Of course, both players were sensational in college. During his maiden season at Rutgers, Bailey averaged 17.6 points and over seven rebounds, and was a menace on defense. Meanwhile, Knueppel was the Robin to Cooper Flagg’s Batman at Duke, averaging 14.4 points and four rebounds. He also bagged the ACC Tournament MVP for leading Duke to victory while Flagg was sidelined with injury. So, Kon vs Ace could have been a duel for the ages.

While Ace will not play tonight, he has already suited up for Jazz twice before. During his Summer League debut against the Sixers, he scored 8 points on 3 of 13 shooting. However, he showed in the following game against Memphis why he deserved to be the fifth overall pick.

He dropped 18 points in Salt Lake and showcased his shooting ability with three made three pointers to lead Utah to victory. Hopefully, his injury is not serious because fans want to see more of the young rookie despite the initial misconception.

Ace Bailey cleared all doubts about reported disinterest in Utah Jazz after viral reaction

After Bailey’s draft night reaction went viral, the Utah fanbase wondered if he even wants to be there. Hoping to get more clarity, one Jazz reporter asked him point blank, “Was there any point that you considered not coming to Utah?” The candid query received a ton of backlash as it questioned the rookie’s loyalty to the organization.

However, Ace’s professional response won everyone’s heart: “Nah, not at all. Just blessed to be in this position, I am. Not a lot of people can sit in these chairs and have great teammates as I’ve got on, they came on with me. So, I’m just blessed to be here.”

While Ace didn’t expect to start his NBA career in Utah, as Brooklyn, Washington, and New Orleans were reportedly his preferred landing spots, he is looking forward to making the most of this opportunity now that he is there. And once he recovers from this Summer League injury bug, an issue that has affected multiple rookies so far, he will be ready to hoop and prove his worth to the world.

Are you excited to see Bailey’s growth?