Ace Bailey's 2K rating is music to the Jazz's ears

The Utah jazz getting their hands on Ace Bailey felt like a home run from the moment it was announced. Bailey is a prospect with high enough potential to be the next face of the franchise. What should make the Jazz feel more confident in the fact that NBA 2K gave him the third-highest rating among rookies.

ClutchPoints recently shared the top 10 2K ratings for the 2025 NBA rookie class. Bailey ranked third behind only Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, both of whom were the consensus top two pick in the draft.

Before people freak out about Bailey's rating being so low, that is typically what happens with rookies because they typically enter the NBA not being finished products. It's looking through the wrong end of the telescope. It's why the right end is seeing Bailey having a higher rating than everyone in his class than only two of his players, both of which came in with more hype than Bailey.

It's further proof of the kind of potential Bailey has and what he could do for the Jazz. He may not instantly prove it when his first NBA season starts - though it didn't take long for him to prove it in Summer League - but there's a good reason to believe that long-term, Utah made the right bet.

Don't be surprised if the Jazz throw Bailey to the wolves

The only two players on the Jazz's roster that everyone know for sure will start this coming season are Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. After that, anything goes, but don't be surprised if Bailey gets the nod in the starting frontcourt.

The Jazz did this with Cody Williams last season to see what he could and could not handle. While that experiment did not yield positives results - no results reall - because Utah is such a young team, Bailey will probably get the same leash, if not longer.

There's no question about Bailey's talent or his potential but there are definitely some kinks in his game that he will need to iron out. He has the tendency to play hero ball, which leads to him taking some pretty ill-advised shots.

What will work about Utah is that he will be paired with a potentially resurgent Lauri Markkanen, so it's not like he will be automatically be expected as their guy. Markkanen should take that pressure off of him, plus being paired with playmakers like Isaiah Collier, Keyonte George, and Walt Clayton Jr. could help but Bailey in the best spots to succeed as a scorer.

There was already plenty of confidence in Bailey, and these new 2K ratings should only make Utah feel more so in that department!