March Madness officially got underway on Thursday night. It began the few weeks of the year when NCAA basketball overtakes the NBA in terms of national attention.
Everyone was paying attention to St. Peter’s, New Mexico State, and Richmond instead of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Luka Doncic. But a part of that is because none of those players were playing…
On the first day of March Madness, the NBA (in what was almost assuredly a smart business decision) only schedule one singular game. And not so coincidentally, it was a matchup between two of the worst teams in the NBA.
Saddiq Bey scored 51 points when no one was watching
The 19-41 Detroit Pistons took on the 18-53 Orlando Magic in what was essentially a battle for who could tank the best. Well, considering the Pistons came out on top, the Magic technically won that battle.
But on a night when everyone had their eyes on Chet Holmgren, Teddy Allen, and other top March Madness performers, Saddiq Bey took it upon himself to steal the show. A show that (likely) very few people were watching.
The second-year wing dropped a career-high 51 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals. He shot 17-of-27 from the field and 10-of-14 from behind the three-point line.
In recent weeks, NBA fans have been spoiled with impressive performance after impressive performance. James has recorded multiple 50-point games, Jayson Tatum has averaged 40 points a night over the course of a week, and both Karl-Anthony Towns and Kyrie Irving both dropped 6-bombs.
Bey’s 51-point Master Class marked the league’s eighth 50-point game in the month of March alone – and there’s still almost two weeks left in the month.
And while all of the other amazing performances get all the love they deserve, the unfortunate reality is that Bey probably won’t get that same hype because no one was paying attention.
So this is to say, congratulations, Saddiq. That was an incredible performance and you deserve all the credit in the world. Keep on being a beast.