Amari Bailey

Amari Bailey (born February 17, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Selected as a McDonald's All-American in high school, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, earning all-freshman honors in the Pac-12 Conference in his only season. He was selected by the Hornets in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft.

Born in New Orleans, Bailey grew up in Chicago, and was raised by a single mother. He and his mother were featured in Bringing Up Ballers, a Lifetime reality show that follows Chicago-area entrepreneur mothers of basketball players. He moved to the Los Angeles area to play for Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth. As a freshman, Bailey helped his team win the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division state title. He had nine points, three rebounds and four assists in a 76–52 finals win over Sheldon. As a junior, he averaged 29.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. He was named California Mr. Basketball, Los Angeles Daily News All-Area Player of the Year and Gold Coast League MVP.

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 as a high school freshman, before decommitting again eight months later when their coach, Steve Alford, 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 suffering an injury which resulted in Bailey to miss playing in the AAU circuit and early parts off Sierra Canyon season. 247Sports ranked Bailey as the third-best combo guard in his high school class.

In his college debut, Bailey scored 10 points against Sacramento State. He began the 2022–23 season winning the Pac-12 Conference's freshman of the week award twice, and had a couple of 19-point games against Pepperdine and Stanford. He was injured against Kentucky when the Wildcats' Oscar Tshiebwe stepped on his left foot.Bailey aggravated the injury the following game against UC Davis. From December 30, 2022, against Washington State, 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. After UCLA's best defender, Jaylen Clark, suffered a season-ending leg injury in the regular-season finale against Arizona, 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. He had 19 points and seven rebounds in the finals, which UCLA lost 61–59 to Arizona. 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 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 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.

Bailey was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft with the 41st overall pick and on July 14, 2023, he signed a two-way contract with the Hornets. Playing for the Hornets in the NBA Summer League, he averaged nine points in 16 minutes per game.

Bailey represented the United States at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Brazil. He averaged 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and three assists per game, helping his team win the gold medal.

College

Bailey's father, Aaron, played football for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.