After tearing his ACL last March, Washington Wizards forward Saddiq Bey —who signed a three-year deal in July —is preparing to take the court for the first time this season. According to The Athletic’s Josh Robbins, Bey will practice with the team’s G League affiliate on Friday and Saturday. The “goal is for (him) to play in NBA regular season games in April,” Robbins reports.
Saddiq Bey On Track To Make Wizards Debut In 2024-25
The 19th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Bey has career averages of 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 0.8 steals per game. Prior to his anomalous 2023-24 campaign, he had converted 36.1 percent of his career 3s (40.1 percent on corner 3s). With that in mind, the Wizards could look to use the Villanova product as a stretch-four, especially if his ACL injury has negatively affected his athleticism.
Saddiq Bey will practice with the G League’s Go-Go today and Saturday, sources told @TheAthletic. The Washington Wizards’ goal is for Bey to play in NBA regular-season games in April. Bey tore his left knee’s ACL on March 10, 2024.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) March 21, 2025
If so, it could go a long way towards making their offense more effective, especially with Corey Kispert now out for the season. To that point, Washington’s offensive rating (107.0) is dead last in the NBA. Their 3-point percentage (.335) ranks 29th but they’re taking 39.4 3-point attempts per game, seventh in the NBA. With that in mind, Kispert, Jordan Poole and Justin Champagnie are the Wizards’ only rotation player shooting above league-average from 3.
Obviously, only Kispert and Champagnie play in the frontcourt.
Growing His Game
Hopefully, Bey’s athleticism hasn’t diminished.
Like any player, the ability to score in a variety of ways only makes him a more viable offensive option. That being said, he’s shown the ability to get to the rim off-the-dribble or off-ball. He can even score on post-ups.
J’ai aussi beaucoup aimé le match de Saddiq Bey : 16 points à 7/10 au tir en sortie de banc. À l’image de son putback dunk en fin de match, son énergie est précieuse.
Et même si ça reste compliqué off-ball, je le trouve de plus en plus solide en défense sur l’homme. pic.twitter.com/NhD3M0Lw7E
— Pierre (@pierrebrgs_) November 16, 2023
In fact, in 2022-23, he scored 1.10 points per possession on post-ups when he was with the Detroit Pistons and 1.09 points per possession on post-ups after he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. That same season, he scored on 47.2 percent of his drives when he was the Hawks. In 2023-24, he scored 1.37 points per possession on cuts.
C’est toujours compliqué en défense, mais il faut donner du crédit à Saddiq Bey pour son adaptation offensive depuis la blessure de Jalen Johnson.
Il avait déjà un style de jeu agressif avant, mais il hésite encore moins à aller jouer physique sous le cercle pour compenser. pic.twitter.com/aOZFTqDG9F
— Pierre (@pierrebrgs_) December 12, 2023
Ultimately, with his age (26) and the state of the Wizards franchise, Bey should be allowed to develop his game.
If it doesn’t work out, it’s no skin off of Washington’s back. They’re probably not making a run to the NBA Finals just yet. If it does work out though, it might only serve to accelerate their rebuilding process.
© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
