Amari Bailey (born February 17, 2004) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. In high school, he was selected as a

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and California Mr. Basketball. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, earning all-freshman honors in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

in his only season. He was selected by the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

in the second round of the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

Early life

Bailey was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana. He is the son of Johanna Leia (real surname Edelberg), a

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and former

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

model, and former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

wide receiver Aaron Bailey; the two eventually split. Edelberg is Jewish, as is Amari. Bailey grew up in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, and was raised by Edelberg. Attending Skinner West Elementary School in the

West Loop The Near West Side, one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, is on the West Side, west of the Chicago River and adjacent to the Loop. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started on the Near West Side. Waves of immigration shaped the history of t ...

neighborhood in the Near West Side, he was the most talked about 7th grade basketball player in Chicago. In 2017, when he was 12 years old he and his mother were featured when he was in middle school in ''Bringing Up Ballers'', a Lifetime reality show that followed Chicago-area entrepreneur mothers of basketball players.

High school career

He moved to Chatsworth, California, in the Los Angeles area to play for

Sierra Canyon School Sierra Canyon School (SCS) is a private, coeducational university-preparatory day school located in Los Angeles, California. Sierra Canyon enrolls students in preschool through grade 12. Sierra Canyon School is accredited by the California A ...

('22) in Chatsworth. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

, Bailey helped his team win the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

(CIF) Open Division state title. As a

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, he averaged 29.2 points, 9.1

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 6.5 assists per game. He was named California Mr. Basketball, the MaxPreps.com California Player of the Year, ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...

'' All-Area Player of the Year, and Gold Coast League MVP. He also earned All-CIF Open Division honors as a sophomore, junior, and senior. He was selected as a

as a senior in 2021–22.

Recruiting

Bailey was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class, according to major recruiting services. At age 13, while in eighth grade, he committed to playing college basketball for DePaul, but he decommitted before starting high school. He later committed to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

as a high school freshman, before decommitting again eight months later when their coach,

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball, Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). ...

, was fired. On February 17, 2021, Bailey recommitted to UCLA and their new coach, Mick Cronin. Bailey was seen as the number one player by every recruiting service entering the summer off his senior season, before he suffered an injury which resulted in Bailey missing playing in the AAU circuit and early parts of Sierra Canyon season.

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

ranked Bailey as the third-best

combo guard A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' 3" ...

in his high school class, and ESPN ranked him the No. 2 shooting guard and No. 5 in the nation among all players in his high school class.

College career

Bailey began the 2022–23 season winning the

's freshman of the week award twice, and had a couple of 19-point games against Pepperdine and

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. He was injured against

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

when the Wildcats' center

Oscar Tshiebwe Oscar Tshiebwe ( ; born 27 November 1999) is a Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Salt Lake ...

stepped on his left foot. Bailey aggravated his injury the following game. From December 30, 2022, until January 26, 2023, he was sidelined for seven games due to discomfort in his foot. On February 9, Bailey scored 24 points in a win against

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

. After UCLA's best defender,

Jaylen Clark Jaylen Bryce Clark (born October 13, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference, earn ...

, suffered a season-ending leg injury in the regular-season finale, Bailey assumed the task of defending the opposition's top perimeter player, and he also increased his scoring. In the Bruins' opener in the 2023 Pac-12 tournament, Bailey scored a career-high 26 points in a win over

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. He had 19 points and seven rebounds in the finals, which UCLA lost 61–59 to Arizona. He was named to the 2023 All-Pac-12 Tournament team. He helped the Bruins advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA tournament, averaging 15.5 points and 6.0 assists while converting 49.5% of his

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

and 38.9% of his three-pointers. In the six games after Clark's injury, Bailey averaged 17.3 points and shot 56.1%. He ended the 2022–23 season with averages of 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 30 games, including 28 starts. He was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. After the season, he declared for the NBA draft.

Professional career

Charlotte Hornets / Greensboro Swarm (2023–2024)

Bailey was selected by the

in the second round of the

with the 41st overall pick. On July 14, 2023, he signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the Hornets. Playing for the Hornets in the 2023

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

, he averaged nine points in 16 minutes per game. At 19 years of age, he was the 10th-youngest player in the league. On November 17, 2023, he made his G-League debut with the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The team became the ...

, and scored 26 points. Bailey made his NBA debut on November 12, 2023, for the Hornets against the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Long Island Nets (2024)

On September 21, 2024, Bailey signed with the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

, but was waived on October 19. Eight days later, he joined the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

Iowa Wolves (2024–present)

On December 30, 2024, Bailey was traded to the

in a three-team trade involving the

Stockton Kings The Stockton Kings are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Stockton, California, and are affiliated with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings play their home games at the Adventist Health Arena and compete in the G ...

with Stockton receiving

Chasson Randle Chasson Randle (born February 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for APR of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal. As a senior in 2014–15, he was considered one of the to ...

from Iowa and Long Island acquiring

Drew Timme Andrew Matthew Timme ( ; born September 9, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was a three-time consensu ...

from Stockton.

National team career

Bailey represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Belém, Brazil from 3 to 9 June 2019. The top four teams qualified for the 2020 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Bulgaria. Qual ...

in Brazil. He averaged 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game, helping his team win the gold medal.

Career statistics

NBA

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College

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Personal life

Bailey's father,

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

, played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...