Amari Bailey

Amari Bailey's Biography

Amari Bailey, an accomplished professional basketball player, was born on February 17, 2004, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born into an athletic and celebrity family, Amari is the son of Johanna Leia, a renowned social media influencer known for her modeling career at Ford and Aaron Bailey, an ex-NFL player who played for the Indianapolis Colts. After his parents separated, Amari was raised single-handedly by his mother in Chicago, Illinois.

At a young age, Amari exhibited exceptional talent on the court. His skills as a basketball player in the 7th grade got people in the West Loop neighborhood talking. His prodigious talent was recognized when he went to Skinner West Elementary School. When Amari was just 12 years old, the reality TV show “Bringing Up Ballers” featured him and his mother. The show, aired on Lifetime, documented the lives of entrepreneurial mothers in Chicago raising burgeoning basketball players.

Determined to reach his potential, Amari relocated to Chatsworth, California, in Los Angeles, to play basketball for Sierra Canyon School. His impact was visible as he helped his team win the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Open Division state title in his freshman year. By his junior year, his statistics were exceptional, averaging 29.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game. His performance caught the attention of scouts and stakeholders in basketball.

Amari’s skills were recognized when he was made California Mr. Basketball, Gold Coast League MVP, and he was also named MaxPreps.com’s California Player of the Year and Los Angeles Daily News’ All-Area Player of the Year. He earned All-CIF Open Division honors continually from his sophomore till his senior year. As a senior, he was chosen as a McDonald’s All-American.

While talent scouts could not overlook his talent, top-ranked colleges sought after him. DePaul first won his commitment. However, he later decommitted before joining high school. He committed to play college basketball for UCLA while a freshman at high school but decommitted again after eight months due to the sacking of UCLA’s coach, Steve Alford. He later recommitted to UCLA on February 17, 2021, under the new coach, Mick Cronin.

His performance at UCLA was outstanding. Despite suffering an injury that prevented him from playing during various sections of his senior season, Amari was still ranked highly by major recruiters. His talent was widely recognized as he won the Pac-12 Conference’s Freshman of the Week award twice and put up impressive performances against Pepperdine and Stanford.

However, Amari’s athletic journey met roadblocks in the form of injuries. He was initially injured during a match against Kentucky, which worsened in the following game. This incident led to him missing seven games running from December 30, 2022, to January 26, 2023. On bouncing back from injury, he recorded a career-high 26 points in a win over Colorado in UCLA’s opener 2023 Pac-12 tournament. He helped UCLA advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA tournament, averaging 15.5 points and six assists.

After the 2022-2023 season, he declared for the NBA draft. In the 2023 NBA draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected him in the second round as the 41st overall pick. He then signed a two-way contract with the Hornets. He made his G-League debut on November 17, 2023, with the Greensboro Swarm, scoring 26 points. Bailey represented the US at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Brazil. His impressive performance of an average of 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3 assists per game earned the team a gold medal. Today, he continues to shine as an American professional basketball player for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League.