It’s no secret that most NBA players go through a significant learning curve in the first few years of their career. But when players adapt, you see their transition from young talents to stars in the blink of an eye. But former Sidwell Friends (Washington, DC) Guard from Largo, MD Saadiq Bey is taking that transition for the Detroit Pistons.
In Saadiq’s last three games, he’s shot 52% from the field and averaged 32 points per game. During that stretch, he’s only had three turnovers but has seven steals. In his best performance, on March 17th against the Orlando Magic, Bey scored 51 points in which he made ten three-pointers while shooting over 70% from three. This was the 8th 50 point game in March by any player in the NBA, but only 12 other NBA players have scored more than 50 points in one game this season.
After the game, Pistons Head Coach Dwayne Casey spoke about what this game will do for Bey’s confidence in the future, saying “That’s going to give him a jolt of confidence that you’re going to need going forward, whether it’s the rest of this year going into the summer, into next year, you can’t pay for those types of moments for a young guy.” This performance was only the third game of the season where the forward has scored more than 30 points.
In his career, Saadiq is used to growing quickly. When in high school, Saadiq de-committed from North Carolina Central University to play for the Villanova Wildcats to play for a major D1. He found time on the court early and started 60 of 67 games in two years before declaring for the NBA draft. After being drafted by the Detroit Pistons, Saadiq has been a critical young piece in a rebuilding franchise that has struggled to find a star. But if he continues to progress at this pace, he will quickly become one of the league’s best.
