Governor warns NBA team not to draft Rutgers’ Ace Bailey: Star has ‘something wrong’ in his head

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is back in the news, but not for reasons you might think.

A passionate Philadelphia 76ers fan — he has admitted to calling into local radio shows under the alias “Josh from Juniata” to discuss the Sixers — Shapiro told street interviewer Kyle Pagan recently that he is not a fan of one of Rutgers’ two soon-to-be NBA lottery picks.

‘I’m worried about [Ace Bailey]. If you’re not coming to work out, then you’ve got something wrong here (points to his head). I’ve already sent a message about that," Shapiro said, implying he had called Sixers ownership to dissuade them from picking Bailey at No. 3.

But it didn’t stop there: “I just don’t like that. He’s got great talent, great upside, but if you don’t want to be here, if you’re not dying to be here, I don’t want you to be here.”

Bailey has been labeled the most polarizing prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft, and he is not helping his case with the latest decision of a perplexing pre-draft process.

The former Rutgers star on Wednesday cancelled a private workout and visit with the Sixers that was scheduled for last weekend, a league source confirmed to NJ Advance Media’s Adam Zagoria. He was scheduled to fly into Philadelphia on Thursday.

Bailey was “seeking a promise from the Sixers,” who have the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, before committing to a meeting, according to ABC6’s Jason Dumas.

He has declined invitations from multiple teams in his draft range, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who placed Bailey at No. 6 to the Washington Wizards in his latest mock draft.

Despite his refusal to visit with the Sixers, they have not ruled out selecting Bailey, per Givony, who noted that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has selected several players in the past without a private workout, including star guards Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain.

Bailey’s camp has “informed interested teams that it believes he is a top-three player in the draft, but also seeks a clear path to stardom, hoping to find a situation with ample minutes and usage to maximize his full potential,” according to Givony.

NJ Advance Media reporter Brian Fonseca contributed to this report.

Todderick Hunt covers Sports and Culture and Recruiting. Have a story idea or a tip? He can be reached atthunt@njadvancemedia.com.