The Utah Jazz just selected Ace Bailey with the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, following in the footsteps of Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. Bailey did not work out with the Jazz, and they were not on his list of preferred destinations heading into draft night. But a similar story can be told about Tatum and the Celtics.
At the time of the 2017 NBA Draft, Tatum didn’t want to play for Boston. They had Gordon Hayward and a packed rotation, and Tatum didn’t think he would get the chance to play real minutes. The Celtics took him anyways, and since then, Tatum has emerged as one of the best players in franchise history.
Utah is hoping to find the same fate with Bailey.
Why didn’t Jayson Tatum want to play for the Celtics?
Tatum has spoken about his lack of desire to join Boston at the time he was entering the draft. Back in November of 2023, he recalled the moment:
"Man, I was ignorant when I got drafted," Tatum said. “What I thought I knew -- first of all, I didn't even want to come because I didn't think I was going to play. They had Gordon (Hayward), JB (Jaylen Brown), Isaiah Thomas, and (Marcus) Smart. And I didn't think I was good enough to be on that team. So, it didn't even cross my mind how to close a game or how to finish. I was just more concerned about getting in the game and starting."
In fact, much like Bailey having preferred destinations, Tatum wanted to join the Phoenix Suns, who held the fourth-overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
On the Club 520 Podcast, Tatum said that Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski convinced him to do a second workout with Boston.
"I wanted to go to Phoenix," said Tatum. "Phoenix had the 4th pick, Earl Watson was the coach. I went out there, and I looked at houses. The weather was nice, and they had a young team. I was like, 'Man, I'm gonna go get to play.' And then I remember Coach K was like Boston wants to have you for a second workout, so you should go. And I said, 'Coach, like they just came off the Eastern Conference Finals, they have a veteran team like I'm probably not going to play,' and he was raving about Brad Stevens. I went to Boston three days before the draft, had the workout, and the rest is history."
Where did Ace Bailey want to play?
Jonathan Givony of ESPN reported that Bailey wanted to go to the Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans, or Brooklyn Nets, who were picking sixth, seventh, and eighth in the draft, immediately after the Jazz.
“He was hoping to get to either Washington, New Orleans or Brooklyn,” Givony said on ESPN.
Now, the Jazz will be praying for a similar outcome to the one the Celtics enjoyed with Tatum.