Back spasms sideline Utah’s rising star following a dominant defensive opener. With Vegas in sight, the Jazz prioritize health, delaying a high-stakes showdown against Oklahoma City's top young talent.
Fresh off a 10-point, six-rebound performance in the Utah Jazz's 103-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in their summer league opener on July 4, Ace Bailey will not be available in today's tilt with Aday Mara and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bailey exited the matchup with the Hawks due to back spasms and didn't return.
Per Sarah Todd, Utah's plan is for the Bailey to return during the franchise's summer league competition in Las Vegas beginning on July 9.
Bailey, the fifth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, finished 4-of-8 from the field in the dramatic win over Atlanta, adding one steal and one block to his stat line. The 19-year-old also finished +10, the highest plus-minus of any Jazz player in the victory.
While the hope was for Bailey to begin establishing a rapport with Peterson prior to the beginning of the 2026-27 NBA season ... his health obviously comes first.
Besides, Bailey's role is expected to further expand in his second year as a pro as he works to develop more of an all-around game.
As he told Jason Batacao of The Salt Lake Tribune, Bailey has placed a major focus on his defensive ability this offseason.
"In every workout ... we start with defense," Bailey said. "It's definitely a big emphasis."
The time Bailey has put in was evident in his limited action — and it extends well beyond the two stocks he posted. He looked comfortable and used his size to his advantage when defending ball-handlers.
But Bailey wasn't the only one who looked sound defensively. The entire team did, in the eyes of summer league head coach Steve Wojciechowski.
“I thought our guys played really hard and played really good defense,” Wojciechowski said via NBA.com's Eric Spyropolous. “We talked about transition defense and protecting the paint before the game. Defensively, I thought we were really good and connected.”
Assuming Bailey gets his back right — Utah could be in store for a highly successful showing in Las Vegas.
He's not going to consistently score just 10 points. We know what Bailey is capable of when he gets hot.
And if the defense he put on tape against Atlanta carries over into the rest of the summer competition and into the regular season, head coach Will Hardy will have another lethal two-way chess piece at his disposal.
But Bailey will likely be waiting until Vegas to show off his growth.
