Saddiq Bey is a veteran 3-and-D forward for the New Orleans Pelicans — a 6-foot-8 high-volume shooter and wing defender. Drafted 19th in 2020 out of Villanova (by Brooklyn, traded to Detroit), he was an All-Rookie First Team pick who later played for Atlanta. After a 2024 ACL tear cost him a season, he returned to post a career-high scoring year with the Pelicans.
Model lines Bey at 17.6 pts (range 14.9–20.3) vs a 17.5 line — roughly a coin flip to clear it (51%).
Model favors Minnesota Timberwolves (63%), projected 111–114, ~225 total at 96.5 pace.
A veteran 3-and-D forward — high-volume shooting and wing defense for the Pelicans.
The nation's top small forward at Villanova, Bey was drafted 19th in 2020 and made the All-Rookie First Team.
He dropped a 51-point game and played for Detroit and Atlanta.
A March 2024 ACL tear cost him the 2024-25 season.
He returned with the Pelicans to post a career-high 17.7 points a game.
A veteran 3-and-D forward — high-volume shooting and wing defense for the Pelicans.
Saddiq Bey was born in Charlotte and won the Julius Erving Award as the nation's top small forward at Villanova before Brooklyn drafted him 19th in 2020 and traded him to Detroit. He made the 2021 All-Rookie First Team and dropped a 51-point game.
After stops in Detroit and Atlanta, he tore his ACL in March 2024, missing the entire 2024-25 season, before signing with New Orleans and returning to post a career-high around 17.7 points a game in 2025-26. A career 35% three-point shooter, he provides floor spacing and wing size.
Sources: Wikipedia, NBA.com, Basketball-Reference, ESPN.
Bey comes from a basketball family — his mother, a former high-school principal, played college basketball at Charlotte — and rose through the D.C.-area prep circuit (DeMatha and Sidwell Friends) before starring at Villanova. His resilience showed in a strong comeback from a serious ACL injury.
His on-court identity is 3-and-D forward play — a 6-foot-8 wing with high-volume perimeter shooting and positional defense, capable of scoring in bunches (a 51-point game) and spacing the floor. His efficiency has varied, but his shooting, size, and durability-tested comeback make him a valuable veteran wing around the Pelicans' young core.
A 3-and-D forward — high-volume shooting, wing defense, and scoring bursts.
3-and-D shooting and size
Bey's value is 3-and-D forward play — a 6-foot-8 wing with high-volume perimeter shooting (a career 35% from three) and positional defense who can score in bunches, as his 51-point game and career-high 17.7-point 2025-26 season showed. That floor spacing and wing size give New Orleans a proven veteran scorer and defender.
A strong comeback
His efficiency has varied, but his bounce-back from a torn ACL to a career-high scoring year is a genuine testament to his resilience and value. As one of the Pelicans' leading scorers in 2025-26, he provides shooting, size, and veteran experience around the young core — exactly the complementary 3-and-D wing a developing team needs.
Per game
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 72 | 31.2 | 17.7 | 5.6 | 2.5 | .451 | .367 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.
Where he sits in history
Hardware
A veteran 3-and-D forward on the rebound — shooting and wing size for the Pelicans.
Bey is a proven veteran 3-and-D scorer who has bounced back strongly from his ACL tear — one of New Orleans's leading scorers in 2025-26, providing high-volume shooting and wing size around the young core. His efficiency varies, but his shooting, size, and resilience make him a valuable complementary piece.
Contract
A veteran 3-and-D forward and high-volume shooter who bounced back from a torn ACL to a career-high scoring year — floor spacing and wing size for New Orleans's young core.
3-and-D forward play — a 6-foot-8 high-volume shooter and wing defender who once scored 51 in a game and posted a career-high around 17.7 points a game with New Orleans.
A torn ACL in March 2024 that cost him the entire 2024-25 season, before he returned to a career-high scoring year.
Villanova, where he won the Julius Erving Award as the nation's top small forward in 2020.