The Utah Jazz has had a difficult season thus far, currently languishing at 14th in the Western Conference with an 18-44 record, with some major injuries derailing their campaign. However, that has also undoubtedly allowed some of the Jazz’s younger players to play without pressure, something which seems to be paying off when it comes to the No. 5 pick of the 2025 draft, Ace Bailey.

Bailey was in the midst of his career-best performance against the Washington Wizards, and produced a commanding dunk in the third quarter to take him up to 26 points on the night. The achievement was immediately acknowledged by the official NBA X account, which posted a clip of the dunk. In it, Bailey can be seen receiving the ball at the edge of the three-point zone before unleashing a dominant dunk after driving to the rim.

“A new career-high for Ace Bailey! 💪 He’s up to 26 PTS after this slam… and it’s only the 3Q 👀,” it read, acknowledging the milestone performance.

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The Jazz eventually won 122-112 with Bailey producing 32 points and two rebounds for the night. The Jazz came into this game off the back of seven straight losses and needed their young star to deliver against a Wizards side that had Trae Young in the starting lineup for the first time since his move from Atlanta.

They were comfortable throughout, starting the game with a 37-23 quarter and never letting up. Utah increased its lead to 18 points by the end of the first half and then saw off a 35-26 comeback from the Wizards in the third to maintain a comfortable lead until the end.

The Jazz had an overall shooting efficiency of 51.1% compared to the Wizards’ 46.8% and also saw Isaiah Collier contribute 27 points. Kyle Filipowski was the third player to score at least 20, finishing with 20 points, 11 assists and three rebounds.

For the Wizards, Julian Reese top-scored with just 18 points, with Young finishing with 12 points and six assists. They were two of the seven players who scored in double digits on the night for the Wizards, who have now lost seven games on the trot.