Ace Bailey wasted no time getting into the gym.
As soon as he got off the private jet that brought him to Utah on Saturday, the first stop was Zions Bank Basketball Campus, the Jazz practice facility, where he got up some shots and got the lay of the land.
Then, a quick stop at the Apple Store to get a new phone. It didn’t take long for the 2025 No. 5 overall pick in the NBA draft to be recognized, and the fans were ready with their Salt Lake City recommendations.
“I just felt the love soon as I walked through the door,” Bailey said. “I mean, ‘Ace, you need somewhere to eat? Ace! Ace! I can help you!’ It’s just awesome that I’ve got that type of fanbase at the Utah Jazz.”
On Sunday the players were formally introduced at a press conference and on Monday they had their first Summer League practice. Tuesday the incoming rookies helped out at a basketball clinic at the Boys and Girls Club in Murray and on Wednesday it was right back to practice.
Despite having only been in town for a couple of days and only just been drafted by the Jazz last week, Bailey said he was shocked at how much the kids were excited to see him at the Boys and Girls Club.
“As soon as I opened the door they were chanting, ‘We want Ace! We want Ace!’ I just loved it,” Bailey said. “That was fun ... From them just asking me how tall I am ... and they just want a picture and an autograph. It’s just a blessing to be in that position.”
But there’s not a lot of down time with the Jazz’s first Summer League game right around the corner. Bailey, Walter Clayton Jr., John Tonje and the rest of the Jazz’s summer squad are all trying to get acclimated to the altitude and learn as much about the Jazz system as possible before games tip off on Saturday.
“We’re not going to be able to teach a whole lot in four days in terms of schemes and systems,” Salt Lake City Summer League coach Scott Morrison said. “But we can set the bar for the ball pressure we want to have, the type of pace we want to have.”
Also in the gym helping the rookies get up to speed were Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier. Though still young players on the roster, they at least have institutional knowledge that can be helpful to the rookies.
Bailey and Collier actually played against one another while in high school and knew each other before becoming Jazz teammates. And, Bailey has another familiar face in the building. Omar Cooper Jr., the son of Bailey’s longtime manager Omar Cooper, is a guest coach for the Jazz’s Summer League team.
The younger Cooper, who has known and worked out with Bailey for years, recently finished his playing career at McNeese State University. Looking to get into coaching — whether as a grad assistant at McNeese, or elsewhere — Cooper took the Jazz up on an invitation to observe and help out this summer.
Children scream after getting a glimpse of the Jazz Bear before his entrance into a basketball clinic at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake in Murray on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.| Laura Seitz, Deseret News