Fun fact: there are only three players on the Utah Jazz roster who have been picked higher than the ninth overall pick in their respective NBA Drafts. Those three are Lauri Markkanen (No. 7 in 2017), Ace Bailey (No. 5 in 2025), and Kevin Love (No. 5 in 2008). Like Love was, Bailey came into the NBA with high expectations. He has started to break out a little, and Love says it's only a taste of what's to come.
In an interview with RG's DJ Siddiqi, Love explained his rapport with Bailey while stressing his belief that his improved play of late is only the first sign of what's to come.
"We were both the fifth pick, so we have his nickname for each other, P5 (pick five), and I think that'll just continue to grow as well," Love told Siddiqi. "I really see ways that I can help him. I don't want too many cooks in the kitchen right now. I think we have a small sample size of what he's capable of with his first 20-point game last night. He started his first game a couple games ago. He's only scratching the surface. The guy is 19 years old."
If there's one player who knows what the Jazz's golden lottery pick is going through, it's Love. Being a fellow No. 5 pick, Love knows that a player like Bailey will need time to prove himself. That's what makes Love such a valuable voice of the Jazz's locker room.
Love has talked about what makes Bailey special before. Even if his rookie year was 17 years ago, Love knows what it's like to see a young talent like Bailey have to acclimate himself to the pros the best he can.
Love's rookie season was far from spectacular
At his peak, Love was one of the NBA's best players when he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he didn't tear it up in his rookie season. However, it was pretty clear as the season went on that Love was something special and that his time was coming.
Averaging a near double-double, Love proved Minnesota had the right guy when they picked him in 2008. From there, he became an inarguable franchise centerpiece, making multiple All-Star and All-NBA teams. Bailey has the talent to do the same in his own way, though let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Bailey reaching his potential as a player will depend on more than his overall talent as a player. He'll need the right coaching staff to unleash him and the right voices to get him on that path to superstardom. For everything that Love isn't anymore, he can be the guy that helps Bailey become that very player.