Ace Bailey is wasting no time this summer.
While plenty of NBA players are easing into the offseason, the Utah Jazz wing is using the quiet months to get sharper, and he’s doing it with a pretty elite training partner: Kevin Durant.
A video posted by @mariportfolio5 on Instagram showed Bailey and Durant working together in the gym, with both players focused on refining their mid-range touch.
Ace Bailey in the gym with KD 🔥 🎥: mariportfolio5 on IG pic.twitter.com/7RQTfQ7z2z
For Bailey, that kind of run is more than just a cool offseason clip. He spent last season openly praising Durant, studying his game and pointing out how closely his own style lines up with the veteran star’s. The Jazz’s fifth-overall pick even said teammates were catching the resemblance on the floor.
"I watched a lot of his game. I mean, my game is his game low-key," Bailey said in an interview with Kevin O'Connor.
"I mean, it hit me a moment-like one of my teammates was like, 'Bro, y’all just did the same move' He did the little spin fade-not the spin fade, but the spin on the little spin jump shot creation. I came down and did the same thing.
It was just like, “Bro,” I didn’t even realize. It’s crazy.
Durant has returned the admiration, too. After the Jazz’s first preseason game for the 2025-26 season against the Houston Rockets, he spoke highly of Bailey and the situation he landed in with Utah.
“Dynamic player," Durant said of Bailey back in October 2025. "I think he’s gonna be a hell of a player.
I love the coaching staff that he’s with, I love that he got drafted to Utah. Good development program over there that I'm looking forward to see how he progresses.”
For the Jazz, that’s the encouraging part. Bailey’s development matters, and every chance he gets to work beside a player of Durant’s caliber is another step in that process.
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