The Detroit Pistons have had a wild stretch over the last week-plus. After taking the Los Angeles Lakers to double overtime on the road last weekend, they traded Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks. Then, they won three of their next four games, and capped it off with an Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for rookie Saddiq Bey.
According to Pistons PR, Bey is the second Piston rookie to ever win the award and the first since Kelly Tripucka did the deed on March 14th of 1982.
Pistons rookie Saddiq Bey turns heads with Player of the Week award
Bey had an incredible week, helping lead the Pistons to a 3-1 record while shooting 71.4 percent from the floor and 69.6 percent from 3-point range, and he had a 30-point, 12-rebound outing against the Boston Celtics in one of those wins.
That performance set a Pistons rookie shooting record, making all seven of his 3-pointers, and he’s also the only rookie in NBA history to go 7-of-7 from 3-point range. It was a spectacular week, highlighted by an incredible game.
Bey has been a standout for his team, not just as a rookie, but as a piece of head coach Dwane Casey’s rotation. He was actually the third pick the Pistons made in the 2020 NBA draft, behind Killian Hayes at seven and Isaiah Stewart at 16, and he has shown himself as a steal at his 19 slot.
With the news that Blake Griffin will remain sidelined until the Detroit Pistons find a trade partner or buy him out, Bey might be the biggest winner of all. When Griffin doesn’t play, his minutes shoot up, and not many rookies have done more with their time on the floor this season than Saddiq Bey.
As the Pistons continue to turn heads around the NBA with their odd tendency to beat the best teams in the league during their rebuilding season, Bey has turned into a major reason to watch this team.