Hawks forward Saddiq Bey exited the team’s game against the Pelicans on Sunday with an injury just two minutes into the fourth quarter. However, Bey and the Hawks would have to wait until Monday to learn that his season would be over.
After going through all of the proper protocols and evaluations, doctors diagnosed Bey with a torn left ACL.
With 10:41 to play, Bey got out on the fast break and looked to score. But Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III ran with him and as Bey planted his foot to create separation, it turned and he spun out of bounds. When he fell, Bey immediately curled his legs up and slammed the ground before grabbing his leg.
Bey, who has taken pride in his availability, tried to stay in and limped around trying to shake it off, all while Hawks staff tried to advise him they needed to take a look. After a breather on the bench, Bey limped over to the free-throw line, split the shots and walked to the Hawks locker room on his own.
In his four seasons in the league, Bey has missed just eight regular-season games that are available. His rookie year, he missed just two games in the NBA’s shortened season, playing 70 of the 72 games due to “DNP-Coach’s Decision.” He missed four games with the Pistons last season with an ankle injury then another as he waited for last season’s trade to clear.
Bey’s injury comes as he’s set to enter restricted free agency at the end of the season. He averaged 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds.
The Hawks have already dealt with depth issues among forwards with Jalen Johnson day-to-day with a left ankle sprain and De’Andre Hunter on a minutes restriction. Rookie Mouhamed Gueye recently returned to playing after spending most of the season rehabbing a right low back stress fracture. Rookie two-way forward Seth Lundy, who has spent much of the season in the G League, has been dealing with a back injury. Sophomore small forward AJ Griffin missed two weeks earlier this season due to personal reasons and only recently returned to consistently play but with the Skyhawks.
In addition to that, the Hawks have not had back center Onyeka Okongwu for the last nine games due to a left big toe sprain.
The Hawks are set to embark on a 10-day five-game West Coast road trip that includes stops in Portland, Utah, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
