(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia 76ers own the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft after lottery luck, but what to do with it has already sparked a heated debate among the fan base. The name at the center of it? Ace Bailey, the 6-foot-9 athletic marvel with tantalizing upside but uneven production at Rutgers.<\/p>\n
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Kevin O\u2019Connor didn\u2019t mince words on the latest episode of “The Kevin O’Connor Show” with ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony, suggesting Bailey is \u201cmost likely to bust of the top five guys.\u201d But Givony shot down the skepticism. \u201cAbsolutely not. I love Ace Bailey,\u201d Givony said, even after acknowledging valid questions about Bailey\u2019s track record. Givony stressed Bailey\u2019s maturity, competitiveness and game-changing potential: \u201cHe\u2019s 18 years old, doesn\u2019t turn 19 until August. \u2026 I firmly believe Ace Bailey is going to be a star in the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey\u2019s case feels eerily similar to past draft debates \u2014 upside versus college-winner credentials. Detractors say, \u201cHe couldn\u2019t help Rutgers win, how is he going to help win games in the NBA?\u201d But Givony has spent time at Rutgers, at Team USA camps and describes a player and person who checks all the right boxes for long-term success.<\/p>\n
The Sixers\u2019 current options at No. 3 aren\u2019t jaw-dropping, as both host and guest agree. \u201cVJ Edgecombe? How does that make sense with [Tyrese] Maxey and [Jared] McCain?\u201d asks Givony. For a team that\u2019s always looking for the next Joel Embiid running mate, Givony urges Bailey: \u201cI\u2019m 100% drafting him third.\u201d<\/p>\n
To hear the full discussion, tune into “The Kevin O’Connor Show<\/a>” on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a> or YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38217,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3769],"tags":[679,224,7,936,1983,2884,4196,6,12,678,207,3817,731,971],"class_list":{"0":"post-38216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-76ers","8":"tag-76ers","9":"tag-ace-bailey","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-joel-embiid","12":"tag-jonathan-givony","13":"tag-kevin-oconnor","14":"tag-maxey","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-nba-draft","17":"tag-philadelphia","18":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","19":"tag-philadelphia76ers","20":"tag-rutgers","21":"tag-vj-edgecombe"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114520377556014006","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}