Rookie Saddiq Bey of the Detroit Pistons was snubbed by the Rising Stars Challenge but continues to climb the Rookie Ladder.
Bey was not chosen for the Rising Stars Challenge, which was surprising to some, as he has been one of the league’s best rookies and has won Eastern Conference Player of the week this season, the only rookie to do so.
But Bey continues to climb the Kia Rookie Ladder, which is a week-to-week ranking of all of the rookies in the NBA.
Not surprisingly, LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton held on to the top two spots, as they are both having spectacular seasons and are the frontrunners for Rookie of the Year.
It would take a monumental effort for Bey to supplant either one of them, but he has a very good chance of ending in the top-five in voting for ROY and could climb even higher.
Detroit Pistons: Saddiq Bey climbing the Rookie Ladder
Since debuting on the rookie ladder three weeks ago, Bey has been very consistent and continues to climb, coming in at 5th this week after being at 6th the week before.
Bey finally broke his streak of double-digit games last night vs. Toronto, but prior to that, you’d have to go back nearly a month to find a game where Bey didn’t score at least ten points.
He’s been averaging 14.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in that time, and continues to shoot over 40 percent from behind the arc.
With Isaiah Stewart and Saben Lee both playing well for the Detroit Pistons, it appears that Troy Weaver had an amazing draft, and that doesn’t even count #7 pick Killian Hayes, who is still out with injury.
If Hayes ends up being a player, Troy Weaver’s first draft will have been one of the best in Pistons’ history, as it appears that Bey, Stewart and Lee are at least role players for the Pistons and could be much more.