SALT LAKE CITY – One Utah Jazz fan got to appear on the stage at the 2025 NBA Draft before the team selected Ace Bailey with the fifth overall pick.
Laken Mercer, 18, has battled cancer, and through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, was able to join the Jazz at Barclays Center on draft night.
Related: Ace Bailey “Thrilled” To Be Joining Jazz
Jazz Fan Joins Team At Draft Through Make-A-Wish
On draft night, Mercer, along with his parents and brother Kylan, took the stage in Brooklyn and got to Bailey after the team selected him with their lottery selection.
“[He] just graduated high school, big time basketball fan, has always watched the draft on his own, really he just has an intense passion for the game and playing it,” Mercer’s father said.
🌟 Laken’s wish came true at the #NBADraft 🌟 pic.twitter.com/IBVPztJLC2
— NBA Cares (@nbacares) June 27, 2025
The 18-year-old took the stage wearing a yellow and black Jazz number 25 jersey, and got to put on the team’s draft hat before discussing his opportunity to be with the team.
“It’s surreal, I thought it would have been a little bit different, not a Make-A-Wish kid,” Mercer quipped, “but hey, I will take what I can get.”
Mercer has been tracking the draft for nearly a decade before attending the event in person.
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“I remember the first year I watched the draft was 2017, watching Donovan Mitchell go,” Mercer said. “Now being up here, walking the stage is just unreal to me, that’s the cool part.”
After selecting Bailey, Mercer posed for photos with the newest Jazzman and discussed the rookie’s arrival in Utah.
“You ready to come to Utah, you ready for the snow?” Mercer asked.
“I’m ready,” Bailey responded, “ready to come now, the snow and the heat.”
The two posed for photos backstage before Mercer relayed a common refrain from Jazz fans to Bailey.
“Hey, we needed you,” Mercer said.
“I got you,” Bailey answered. “We’re gonna put the work in.”
The Jazz also drafted Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. with the 18th pick in the first round, and Wisconsin wing John Tonje with the 53rd pick in the second round.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone . Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.