The Utah Jazz finally got back on the hardwood this weekend to begin the motions of their 2026-27 campaign, as they got their first of four preseason games going against the Denver Nuggets.
In a game where virtually every active player on the Jazz’s roster got a good share of minutes across the night, the matchup moreso allowed Utah’s players to shake the rust off a couple of weeks before the real action of the regular season, and to begin meshing with this new-look roster from an offseason of moves.
However, in the eyes of Jazz head coach Will Hardy, there was one player that stood out a bit more than the rest en route to their preseason victory over the Nuggets––and that was second-year wing Ace Bailey.
Hardy certainly didn’t hold back on his assessment of Bailey’s first preseason game of the year either, because when he shared his thoughts on how the second-year wing performed over the weekend, he didn’t hesitate when calling it the best basketball game he’s played since first arriving at Utah.
“I thought it was the best basketball game Ace has played for us in a year,” Hardy said before the Jazz’s preseason rematch vs. the Nuggets. “I think points and stats are easy things to click on, and they get a lot of likes on social media. But to win, you have to contribute on both sides of the ball.”
What Hardy was seemingly most impressed with was just how active Bailey was defensively, which has been a goal for the Jazz to develop as a part of his game for some time now.
As a lanky 6-foot-9 wing with standout athleticism, the traits are there on paper for Bailey to hone into being a really talented two-way player. And in exhibition game one against Denver, Hardy felt as if he stepped up to the occasion more than ever.
” I thought Ace was outstanding defensively,” Hardy continued. “I thought he made a lot of simple plays that might go unnoticed if you’re not paying attention. But our goal for Ace, as all of our young players, is to be two-way players; to be able to contribute on both sides of the ball, and I thought Ace made a really sound game, made a lot of simple choices offensively.”
“Defensively, he guarded the ball well, had a couple of nice plays at the rim.. His activity level was off the charts. His conditioning and the work that he’s done this summer allowed him to play harder for longer. So I was very pleased with his first game.”
After how the Jazz’s past few seasons have fared on the defensive end, having more impactful two-way players like Bailey could do wonders for the overall success of this rotation.
Utah has ranked in the bottom two teams in terms of defensive rating for the past three years; a lot of which can be chalked up to the lack of talent on the perimeter this team has defensively.
But if someone like Bailey can put the pieces together in order to be a plus-defender, on top of the tantalizing offensive traits he has, not only could the Jazz finally see themselves lift up from the floor of the NBA in terms of team defenses, but they might also have a really special talent in the form of their top-five pick from last year.
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