Saddiq Bey gave the Pelicans exactly the kind of preseason finish they were hoping to see.
After a rocky stretch that had New Orleans fans wondering what was going on, Bey looked far more like the player the team expected when it signed him to a three-year extension. In the Pelicans’ preseason finale against Washington on Friday night, he put together his strongest showing yet: 19 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
He did it efficiently, too, going 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-5 from deep. Bey was creating his own offense again, offering real value on defense, helping on the glass and spacing the floor the way the Pelicans need him to.
That matters because his first three preseason games had been rough. He entered Friday averaging 7 points while shooting 30 percent overall and 25 percent from three. Preseason numbers are one thing, but the misses and the difficulty getting clean looks were enough to raise eyebrows.
Friday quieted a lot of that noise.
It also came at a useful time, because the concern around Bey wasn’t really about the extension itself. The question was whether the production he showed for New Orleans in 2025-26 was real or just a flash in the pan. Through the first few preseason games, that doubt only grew.
This performance pushed back hard against that idea. His shot-making, the way he moved within the offense and the confidence he showed all looked much closer to the version of Bey that impressed the fan base last season.
There’s still no reason to treat one preseason game like a full-season guarantee. Bey is not automatically headed for another year like his career-best line of 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 36.7 percent. But he looked much more like that player on Friday than he had at any point earlier in the preseason.
A change in role may have had something to do with the slow start. Bey started 64 games last season, but now he’s adjusting to life as a second-unit player, along with a new offensive system and different teammates around him.
Whatever was throwing him off, he settled in when it counted. If Friday night is any indication, Bey should be ready to look like the player New Orleans extended when the Pelicans open against the Indiana Pacers.
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