Dreams look to come true for Chattanooga’s own Ace Bailey when the 18-year-old basketball phenom is expected to be selected early in the 2025 NBA draft, which starts Wednesday night at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets.
In CBS Sports’ most recent mock draft, the 6-foot-8, 203-pound Bailey was tabbed to go sixth overall in the first round to the Washington Wizards.
Here are 10 basketball facts about “The kid from Chatt” on the eve of moving up to the sport’s highest level after a lone college season at Rutgers this past winter.
› Talented trainer: Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo trained with Bailey and Rutgers’ teammate Dylan Harper as the two-time NBA MVP worked with each rising star on post moves and getting to their “kill spots” on the floor. The trio trained together last September at Nike’s headquarters in New York City.
› Favorite player: Growing up as a massive Kevin Durant fan, little did Bailey know he would one day draw rave reviews from his favorite NBA legend.
KD had this to say this past December in a postgame interview about the Chattanooga native: “Ace is a pure, pure talent. Being able to shoot the ball with that type of touch from anywhere is insane, as well as the shots he can make over multiple people at that length. I see some of my game in Ace. As far as the mid-range game, he is probably a little bit more advanced than I was at that age. He is a problem. I can’t wait to see his career grow.”
› More high praise: Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George is among the NBA stars Bailey has been compared to.
George said this about Bailey on a podcast in February when asked if he would take Cooper Flagg from Duke or Bailey with the first overall pick of this year’s draft: “I think Ace Bailey can scratch a little bit more off of his surface than Cooper Flagg can. I think both will be all-stars and superstars once they develop and get to the NBA. I think those two will definitely be the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird comparison in terms of similar body types and the parity between those two, but I’m going to go with Ace Bailey.”
› Boyd Buchanan days: At the age of 14, Bailey starred right away on the Chattanooga prep hoops scene as he helped lift Boyd Buchanan to district and region tournament championships as a 6-6 freshman.
Bailey showcased his potential early on as he had 24 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Central. He also quite often filled the stat sheet, such as when he posted 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three blocks against Grace Academy.
In his high school debut, he scored 18 points and closed his lone season with Boyd Buchanan with a 20-point showing in the TSSAA Division II-A state quarterfinals.
› Boo Carter’s buddy: Two of the best-known former Chattanooga prep stars currently making a national name for themselves are Bailey and University of Tennessee sophomore football player Boo Carter, a defensive back, receiver and return specialist for the Volunteers who spent time at Chattanooga Christian, Brainerd and Bradley Central during his high school days.
The two played AAU basketball together for AOT (Athletes of Tomorrow), which is based in Powder Springs, Georgia. That city is also home to McEachern High School, where Bailey spent his final two prep seasons after transferring from Boyd Buchanan.
Bailey also beat his close friend Carter when he posted 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to help lead Boyd Buchanan to an 86-62 victory over Chattanooga Christian on Jan. 9, 2021. Carter also shined in the defeat with 23 points.
› Dalewood roots: The address 1300 Shallowford Road in Chattanooga is where Bailey began to blossom toward stardom as he played for coach Cedric Dozier at Dalewood Middle School.
Bailey was attempting dunks for the Blue Knights and had 18 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Chattanooga Prep.
Now he has designed an outdoor basketball court at Dalewood that has also been named in his honor.
› He was lovin’ it: Bailey put up video game numbers in his final season at McEachern as he averaged 32.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 blocks per game on the way to being selected as a McDonald’s All-American as well as a top-three finalist for Gatorade national player of the year along with Flagg and another likely top-10 draft pick, V.J. Edgecombe.
Bailey is one of only two Chattanooga-born male basketball players to be selected to the McDonald’s All-America game, with Baylor School’s Jimmy Braddock in 1979 the other.
› Nike NIL deal: In January of 2022, Bailey posted the words “I am a pending millionaire” on his Facebook page.
Just a few years later as a college freshman at Rutgers, this dream would come true as Bailey signed name, image and likeness deals with Nike and Knights of the Raritan that were estimated at $1.6 million.
› SLAM 253: Bailey and Harper Jr. were featured on the cover of the popular basketball magazine SLAM in its 253rd issue for December/January this past winter.
› Runs in the family: Bailey’s athletic abilities on the court come naturally as his mother, Ramika McGee, played college basketball at West Virginia, while his father, Richard Bailey, played at Houston.
Bailey had more than 30 Division I basketball scholarship offers and became the highest-ranked recruit in Rutgers history to sign when he followed through on his commitment to the Big Ten prograrm on Nov. 12, 2023.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.
