"Growing up, I was a really skinny kid – very small – like my first year of high school, I was probably like 5-foot-8 and 130 pounds, so very skinny and small."
As you look up and down the deep Hawks rotation, finding the player who said that he was a string bean as a high school freshman yields an unexpected result.
When the social media team at Hawks.com asked players at Media Day about which player made the most gains in the weight room in the offseason, the consensus pick was Saddiq Bey, the once-skinny high schooler.
And, as Quin Snyder was quick to point out, it is a feat made more impressive by its starting point.
"Well, the thing about Saddiq is that he was doing pretty good before the offseason, too," Snyder quipped.
If the strength of Bey's game is the way in which he combines such physical prowess with a deft shooting touch, the strength of this Hawks team could lie in its depth and players like Bey. The contenders in the Eastern Conference feature duos like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The Hawks roll with a super duo of their own in Trae Young and Dejounte Murray that puts them at that level.
At the same time, the path to exceeding the competition in the East might rest with the performance of the remainder of the rotation.
Indeed, through five games of the season, the Hawks have an impressive eight players averaging in double figures: Trae and Dejounte both average over 20 points per game, and every player who has played 10 or more minutes per game this season is averaging 10+ points per game, a list that includes De'Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela, and Onyeka Okongwu.
To this point in the season, Bey has started three games at power forward and Johnson has started two. Snyder has indicated that his choice of starter isn't the be-all and end-all. The bigger issue – and the one that swings in the Hawks' favor – is that they get 48 minutes of solid play at that spot.
"There was never a question, for me, about the (power forward) position," Snyder said. "Meaning that we have some good players there. People get fixated on starting. It is what it is. If you go watch a game in Europe, they start different lineups all the time and no one thinks anything of it. People get fixated on rotations. If you looked at our rotation the other night, it was all over the place, because that's what the game dictated. I think, particularly in Saddiq and Jalen's case because they've both started games, they haven't thought about it the way the general public thinks about it. They haven't thought about it the way the PA announcer thinks about it when he announces them. And that's refreshing, because I think it shows their commitment to the bottom line, which is not the stat sheet. It's the wins. They're doing everything they can (to win games)."
Bey is a natural complement to players like Trae and Dejounte because of his shooting. His 537 three-point field goals in his first three seasons ranks sixth all-time behind Buddy Hield, Anthony Edwards, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and Klay Thompson. In this young season, Bey has impressed by making 50.0 percent of his field-goal attempts, 42.1 percent of his threes, and 90.0 percent of his free throws.
At the same time, when the ball swings from one side of the floor to the other and lands in Bey's hands, a hard closeout might chase him off the three-point line.
And that's when the well-cultivated strength comes in. Bey has an incredible knack for driving and bumping his way through traffic to make space for a shot at the rim.
"I got introduced to my guy, Myron Flowers, back home and he's a strength and conditioning coach," Bey said. "Since the first lift I ever lifted with him, I've been addicted ever since. I'm obsessed with it."
Snyder's squad gets to profit from the result.
"Saddiq's toughness is palpable, and it can't help but give you energy and give you juice when you see his physicality."
At the same time, Bey loves the process, and it's not hard to envision him following in the steps former Hawks like Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson who are shredded in retirement.
"It's just a passion of mine, and I feel like it helps in the games and it helps with overall health," Bey said. "It was definitely something I had to work for."