Last week, Pistons young guns Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart were named to the USA Select team that will help prepare the national team for this summer's Olympics. This week, they're training with the big guns in Las Vegas.
Speaking with the media Tuesday, Bey called his selection "a surprise," despite a standout season in which he sank the third most threes by a rookie in NBA history and earned first-team All-Rookie honors.
“It’s my first time being a part of a USA event," Bey said. "It’s a blessing and an honor. Once I found out, I was ecstatic for the opportunity. Just continuing to work and trying to be the best I can to help the main team bring home the gold."
Bey, 22, thrived this year under the tutelage of Pistons head coach Dwane Casey. On the Select Team, he'll play under two-time NBA champion Erik Spoelstra. The head coach of the Heat raved about the progress made by Bey and Stewart in their rookie seasons.
“They’re in a good program, particularly for development under coach Casey,” Spoelstra said. “We saw it firsthand from where they were at the beginning of the year to who they were at the end. It’s a big credit to them and how committed they are to their development, their improvement and accepting coaching. It’s clear it didn’t just happen.
"There was a lot of working behind the scenes to have that kind of improvement. Both of them have very promising futures.”
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Spoelstra's not kidding about seeing it firsthand. When the Pistons played the Heat in back to back games early in the season, Bey totaled five points and one rebound. He put up 22 points, five rebounds and four assists when the two teams met again in the season finale.
Now the sharpshooter's eager to add to his game by practicing with and against the likes of Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, three of the best scorers on the planet. He said it'll be beneficial "to play with different guys in maybe a different role."
"Just being able to adapt to other systems and other sets and learn from different people. There's lot of wisdom here, a lot of experience," he said. "I think it’s going to be very beneficial to learn from some of the best."
Same for Stewart, who will get to train with fellow big men Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love.
“Being around great players and seeing their process and their attention to detail and competitiveness, that will open a lot of eyes of the select group when they compete against the main team," said Spoelstra. "You’re talking about the best players in the world, but you’re also talking about the best minds, the most disciplined players, the hardest-working players, the players that have the highest attention spans, the highest IQ’s.
"These are invaluable examples for young players to see, particularly for these guys when they’re 20, 21 years old.”