Can we talk about Ace Bailey really quick………a couple years ago I told myself that although the NBA is in its “small ball” era, the players will start getting bigger with more refined skill sets. It’s already started with outliers such as Paolo Banchero, a dual forward standing 6’10, who is the primary ball handler and scorer for the Orlando Magic’s offense. Victor Wembanyama, a 7’3 frenchman for the San Antonio Spurs with an offensive and defensive versatility that will make him one of the most dominant players in NBA history if he stays on the current trajectory. Mark my words, the next will be Ace Bailey.

For his size (6’10, 200 pounds) he is an extremely fluid and nimble athlete. The catch is that he is already an abnormality for his position. According to the Rutgers basketball website he is listed as a shooting guard, a position with an average height of 6’5 in the NBA. The kid scores in a number of ways comfortably. He can get to the basket and finish with floaters, he can face up and shoot long middies, he can shoot the pull up three, he has some shake in his handle, and he can shoot over anybody going left or right in the mid range. His size combined with his NBA ready offensive game will make him a mismatch very early in his career as he’ll be able to shoot over anybody shorter than him, and dribble around anybody larger than him. He’s also an excellent rebounder which will make him glue for offensive and defensive lineups.

Area’s of growth for him are operating out of the pick and roll, as he does not boast high assist numbers. That next level for him as he takes the jump to the NBA are making reads that take care of the basketball and getting teammates easy shots. Now part of the low assist numbers are due to another potential top 3 draft pick in Dylan Harper who fills that primary initiator role and also this Rutgers basketball team simply isn’t that good outside of Ace and Dylan. Another area of growth for him is obviously getting stronger. NBA defenders will try to bump him off spots and out muscle him. I don’t think he’s done growing so his frame will fill out with an extra 20 pounds or so and being apart of the right NBA franchise will build his overall strength. With that said, Ace Bailey is going to be a problem in the NBA, he is the next step in the overall evolution of the game and its amazing to see. HE GOT NEXT!!!!