Add Gov. Josh Shapiro to the list of people who don’t want the Sixers to draft Ace Bailey

Shapiro, a big Sixers fan who has been known to call local sports radio stations as “Josh from Juniata,” thinks the Rutgers star canceling his workout is a big red flag.

Rutgers guard Ace Bailey canceled his workout with the Sixers ahead of this week's NBA draft.Read moreNam Y. Huh / AP

by Gabriela Carroll

Published June 23, 2025, 2:42 p.m. ET

Gov. Josh Shapiro is out on Ace Bailey ahead of Wednesday’s NBA Draft.

Bailey raised a few eyebrows after he elected not to work out with the Sixers, who could potentially draft him at No. 3 overall in the first round on Wednesday. Including Shapiro’s.

“I am worried about that. If you’re not coming to work out, then you’ve got something wrong here,” Shapiro told the Men at Work podcast, gesturing to his head. “I’ve already sent a message about that.”

Bailey, who played college basketball at Rutgers, is also set to throw out the first pitch at Tuesday’s Mets game ahead of the NBA draft, which will take place in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. Shapiro, who grew up playing basketball and is a massive Sixers fan known to call into local sports radio stations as “Josh from Juniata,” also thought this was a red flag.

“I just don’t like that,” Shapiro said. “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.”

So who does Shapiro want? He was initially hesitant about Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, questioning whether the Sixers need “another guard like that” in their lineup, but eventually conceded.

“If you look at the teams that are going far,” Shapiro said. “They’ve got a bunch of guards who can run, three-and-D … and then hopefully Joel will be all right.”

Shapiro’s son, however, is still in on Bailey.

“They do love the TikTok edits,” Shapiro joked after his son picked Bailey.