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When the NBA Rising Stars teams were announced this week, the most notable omission was that of Ace Bailey, the Utah Jazz wing taken with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Bailey was the only player taken in the top nine of the most recent draft that was left off the rookie Rising Stars team.
There are perfectly good arguments to be made for each of the rookies that made the team, and it was not an egregious snub for Bailey to have not been included. Of the rookie group that was chosen, Bailey is probably the most green and the Jazz have been slow about making him a focal point in plays. Likewise, there are plenty of statistical elements that made the Rising Stars choices sensible.
What’s more notable, in my opinion, is the fact that the Jazz have had so few representatives in the Rising Stars competitions throughout the rebuild. In fact, Jazz guard Keyonte George has been the Jazz’s only Rising Stars representative when he played in the game last year (his second season).
For a team that has been laser focused on amassing young talent and building a team through the draft, it stands out that the team’s young players have not popped. There have been moments of hope and flashes of potential from players across the roster, but it’s definitely concerning that two of the Jazz’s top 10 picks from recent years have been all but written off by the larger NBA audience.
When it comes to Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams, there are definitely caveats that are necessary to address. Obviously Hendricks’ brutal leg injury last season set him back, and the Jazz have been particularly slow about bringing along young players, using the G League liberally when it comes to getting them minutes.
But it’s not hard to see that Hendricks and Williams have fallen short of any hype they had as collegiate players. And the fact that the Jazz’s G League players have had more accolades over the last few years than any of the Jazz’s fully rostered players should, at the very least, have us all looking at the Jazz’s draft selections with a critical eye.
George, of course, is a solid example of how time and patience are important when it comes to young NBA players. But George popped in training camp his rookie season, and it was clear he had the skill and potential to be a good NBA player — he just needed some maturity and discipline.
Bailey has the same kind of early returns, in that it’s clear he has the tools to be an exceptional player, but he is going to need time to mature into his role.
As for the other Jazz youngsters, time might not be on their side.
New with the Jazz
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- Jazz’s season-long defensive issues continue in loss to Warriors (Deseret News)
- Jazz’s offense runs out of steam in double-digit loss to Clippers (Deseret News)
- What to expect from the Jazz at the trade deadline (Deseret News)
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- Jan. 30 | 7:30 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz vs. Brooklyn Nets | KJZZ
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