Many draft experts said the Detroit Pistons had the “steal” of the 2020 NBA draft when they acquired Saddiq Bey.

And after eight games into the season, those experts could be right.

Bey had his best scoring game of the season Wednesday night during the Pistons’ 130-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He tallied 20 points on 43% shooting, ten rebounds, and three assists. All six of his buckets were three-pointers, on 60% shooting beyond the arc.

When a player takes a bad shot and makes it, that can be troublesome. Proof of that is Blake Griffin’s erratic three-point shooting this season. 

That’s not the case with Bey. 

If anything, there’s an argument that he might have the best shot-selection out of his teammates. 

Bey is slowly building a case for potential NBA All-Rookie honors.

Bey is outperforming several of his fellow rookies in a few categories. Amongst all his fellow rookies, he’s fifth in scoring (10.4 PPG), fourth in rebounds (5 RPG), and second in scoring on the road (13 PPG). 

Even though the Pistons have a 1-7 record, Bey’s performance is nothing fans should ignore. 

If you need more proof, let’s look at his three-point shooting. 

At 46.3% shooting from long-distance, Bey isn’t only outperforming several rookies in his class, but he’s giving a few veterans a run for their money in this category as well. As of right now, he’s shooting the trey-ball better than Stephen Curry, James Harden, and Kevin Durant.

Now let’s be clear. 

No one is saying that Bey is already in their class. That would be blasphemous, but the numbers are the numbers.

Additionally, after his performance on Wednesday, Bey joins Golden State’s James Wiseman as the only two rookies with double-doubles this season. Both have one apiece. 

It’s too early to heap much praise on the 19th overall pick, but early returns show that the Pistons scored big landing Saddiq Bey.