Rutgers star Ace Bailey isn’t the best player in the 2025 NBA Draft. That distinction would go to Duke’s Cooper Flagg — the projected No. 1 overall pick in next month’s draft. Bailey isn’t even the best draft prospect from his own college team. Dylan Harper, Bailey’s former five-star teammate at Rutgers, is expected to be selected after Flagg to the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 2 overall pick.
Bailey’s overall game has been a hot topic since the fall when he began his college career at Rutgers as one of the program’s most highly touted recruits alongside Harper. Despite having Harper and Bailey, Rutgers will make history this summer as the first college team to miss the NCAA Tournament with two top-five prospects on the roster.
To be blunt, Bailey is the most polarizing player in the draft, with a wide spectrum of takes about his game sprinkled in between. Some say Bailey is the next Kevin Durant, while other pundits believe he has the highest chance to not live up to his predraft hype.
2025 NBA Mock Draft: Cooper Flagg goes No. 1 to Mavericks, Duke teammate Kon Knueppel moves into top five
Cameron Salerno
Bailey’s upside is enamouring. He’s a skilled shotmaker capable of making shots uncontested from 20 feet away or hitting a turnaround fadeaway near the basket with multiple defenders surrounding him. His ceiling on draft night will start with the Philadelphia 76ers with pick No. 3, but it’s hard to see him falling past the Washington Wizards at No. 6.
The most polarizing prospect from the last draft cycle was Purdue star big man Zach Edey for different reasons. Some thought Edey would be a late first-round pick, while others, such as the Memphis Grizzlies, believed he was…
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