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The Late 20’s: Tyler Bey Scouting Report

Neeraj Varma
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Name: Tyler Bey

Dominant Hand: Right

Age: 22.7

Height: 6’7

Wingspan: 7’1

Weight: 215 lbs

School: Colorado

Position: PF

ESPN Top 100 Ranking: Unranked

NBADraft.Net Mock Ranking: 26

Upbringing & Early Career

Tyler Bey was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, by his single mother, Toya Mays. Unlike most modern basketball standouts who have been shooting on five-foot high rims with size two basketballs since the time they were toddlers, Bey did not start playing competitive basketball until the eighth grade. Quickly, he fell in love with the game and set his sights on turning pro one day. Just a couple of years later, he transferred to Middlebrooks Academy in Los Angeles.

As explained in an article by the Las Vegas Sun, Bey quickly realized how hard he would have to work to make his dreams come true. On an average school day, he would be up at 5:00 AM, head to the gym to work out, then go to practice, then go to a day full of classes, and work out more in the evening, before completing his homework, and trying to get a healthy amount of sleep.

“We were having to do things I never had to do and it was hard for me,” Bey says. “I went through a lot of ups and downs, mostly downs. I was depressed and wanted to go home.” After calling his mother, and his AAU coach, whom Bey describes as a father figure, they convinced him that he had to keep going if he still wanted to play pro basketball.

He continued along his grind no matter how tough some days were, and by the end of his high school career, he became the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Middlebrooks. After graduating high school, he decided to take his talents to Colorado. His hard work paid off, and he was going to play Division 1.

Through Bey’s first two seasons at Colorado, he was good by college standards, and was consistently one of the better players on his team, although neither his numbers nor his game stood out enough for him to declare for the NBA Draft.

That was until his junior year – this past season – where he saw a career-high 29 minutes per game, and did not let any of them go to waste. Bey averaged 13.8 points and 9.0 rebound per contest, in addition to taking home the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award, and earning himself a spot on the second team All Pac-12. Now, he was ready for the NBA.

As Toronto Raptors director of global scouting and international affairs, Patrick Engelbrecht said earlier this week, the Raptors favour upperclassmen a little bit more in the draft process, not only because there is a greater sample size to look at of what they’re capable of doing on the floor, but because people who have played in college longer have had to work a little bit harder to reach the NBA. It demonstrates a player’s work ethic when they need to scale their way up from the bottom of the ranks, and that’s exactly what Tyler Bey has done. As someone who was not even mentioned on ESPN’s Top 100 list as a high school senior, he is now projected by many to be a late-first round selection in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Strength and Athleticism

Bey is slightly undersized for a power forward, but with his somewhat developed three-point shot, is capable of playing the small forward slot as well. Even in the frontcourt, he is able to compete against bigger bodies with his sheer athleticism, strength, and overall aggressiveness. Having a bit more size is a natural advantage for a player who stayed a little bit longer in college, and Bey’s case is no different. He only has 5% body fat, meaning almost all of his weight is in muscle, and that’s shown through his uncanny leaping ability. At the NBA combine, he set a record for forwards with a 43.5-inch vertical leap, and a 37-inch standing jump.

In addition to using his strength and hops to finish over bigger defenders, which we’ll dive deeper into in a second, Bey is a great rim runner as well. As can be seen from the clip below, Bey trails four defenders on the fastbreak, but sprints out ahead of the pack, and doesn’t hesitate to soar for the slam.

Finishing

On top of using his speed to beat defenders down the floor in the open court, Bey also channels his aggressiveness and leverages his gravity-defying jumping skills to finish inside with the defense draped all over him. His efficiency inside the arc is noticeable through his 54.5% two-point percentage throughout his college career. That is because the majority of his scoring comes from the low block and around the basket – or what is also known as the dunker spot. Not only does Bey get up high when he throws down his dunks, but he leaves his feet quick, and is explosive towards the basket using his body well to shield off defenders. He has great body control, and protects the ball well to avoid getting blocked.

In the first of the two clips to follow, Bey shows off his ability to beat his man off the dribble with some patience and a good jab step, before finishing through contact on the reverse layup, and using the rim as protection.

Onto the latter video, Bey’s pure aggression, heart, and unwillingness to be denied is on full display as he posterizes his defender superman-style.

Bey’s potential as a pick and roll player is oozing. Next to guards like Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry who would be able to thread the ball to him inside, his fearlessness and belligerence would lead to a lot of easy baskets, or run up the free throw total for the Raptors.

Shooting

What makes Bey’s offensive game even more intriguing is its multidimensionality. In addition to essentially being a more polished, stronger, and all-around better version of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Bey is equipped with a pretty reliable jump shot at just 22 years old. At the beginning of high school, Bey’s shooting stroke was nonexistent. Closer to the end of his time at Middlebrooks however, he began to develop a consistent midrange jumper, and after finding his form, he stretched it all the way out to the three-point line.

In his first college season, Bey only attempted six three pointers, and made none of them, however in his second season, there was some improvement. On 22 attempts from deep, Bey was able to connect on five of them – still a dismal percentage, and a shot that a coach wouldn’t necessarily encourage, but his development had to start somewhere. Finally in his last season with Colorado, Bey shot a blistering 41.9% from deep. Though he only attempted one three-point shot each game, his jumper is legit, and that’s backed up by his 74.3% shooting from the free throw line. With how exponentially fast his shot has improved, and given his immaculate work ethic, there’s no doubt that he could become an above-average shooter under Nick Nurse’s coaching.

While his mechanics may need to be tinkered with a little bit, his overall form is good. Despite taking an extra split second to get rid of the ball off the catch, and starting his release near his hip, he elevates well, has a high release, and angles his body towards the rim, as can be seen from the clip below.

Most of Bey’s shots outside 18 feet come off the catch, however that is completely fine for a player with Bey’s arsenal, as he is not a great playmaker or ball handler, and won’t find himself dribbling outside the arc too often.

Defense

There are certainly holes to be spotted in Bey’s offensive game. He isn’t a great playmaker, he lacks any sort of ball handling ability, and there are still concerns surrounding his jumper. The one area that nobody can begin to question is his defense. Beyond his impressive averages of 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game this past season, it’s Bey’s intangibles, versatility, and ferociousness on that side of the ball which has scouts most impressed. As aforementioned, he’s a freak athlete, and that doesn’t leave out his lateral quicks. With his heavy frame and great lower body strength, he’s not only able to match up against bigger players inside, but he can switch easily onto smaller and quicker guards on the perimeter. As can be seen from the clip below, he does a good job trusting his feet, and poking the ball away from the opposing guard to start Colorado’s fastbreak.

Before delving into Bey’s off-ball proficiencies, he also excels in defending the pick and roll, whether he’s guarding the ball handler, or the screen setter. As aforementioned, he has great switchability, which allows teams to play a switch-everything style while he’s on the floor, but beyond that, he is also great at intercepting the entry pass to the rolling big man. As can be seen from the clip below, Bey was about to blitz the ball handler before realizing his man had set a brush screen and was diving to the basket. Before the ball handler could feed his big man inside, Bey recovered quickly and blew up their play, putting his positioning, awareness, and athleticism all on display.

Finally, Bey has an exceptional ability to sniff out swing and kick passes, and positions himself well between the ball and his defender to deflect or intercept those passes when they come. At the same time, he does not gamble, or get too steal-hungry to the point where it distracts him from playing good help defense. On the play below, Bey rotates over from the weak side to get the tough baseline block and save his team from giving up a layup.

Rebounding

Like the prototypical 3&D, ferocious, athletic big man that Tyler Bey is, he is also a relentless rebounder. Since he’s undersized, he is disadvantaged relative to his competition, but he negates that by boxing out well, reading where the rebound will come off, using his hops to get up high, and his length to secure tough rebounds. Additionally, he has a quick second jump, and tenaciously fights for rebounds off his own misses.

A great example of Bey’s determination to secure rebounds is encapsulated below, before he makes a rather uncharacteristic no-look pass.

Why He’s Projected To Drop

Almost certainly, the biggest reason why Bey isn’t projected to be selected in the top-10 of this year’s draft is because of his age. At almost 23 years old, teams are likely in doubt of how high his ceiling is, which is valid, although that’s a mistake which we’ve seen made all too often in the NBA. Even if Bey were a finished product, he could come into the NBA tomorrow and command minutes off the bench on a contending team based on his defense alone. Any improvements he makes beyond the player that he already is will only increase his value further, and as we know from recent trade history in the NBA, elite 3&D players like Bey are being sold at a premium.

The Raptors on the other hand, typically have not been afraid to take upperclassmen. If not already evident from Engelbrecht’s interview, just take a look at their recent draft picks under the reign of Masai Ujiri. Delon Wright was a two-year player at Utah; Norman Powell was a four-year player at UCLA; Pascal Siakam was a two-year player at New Mexico State; OG Anunoby was a two-year player at Indiana; and although both of them were undrafted, Fred VanVleet and Terence Davis Jr. were both four year players at Wichita State and Ole Miss respectively. Toronto’s front office would have no issue with Bey’s age, and if they see fit, would happily add him to bolster the back end of the Raptors bench if he’s available.

Modern NBA Comparison: Josh Smith

Although Josh Smith is a couple of inches taller than Tyler Bey is, and Smith had more of a perimeter game than Bey currently does, I think that the parallels between the two are evident, and that Josh Smith’s peak could be something similar to what Bey’s potential is. Both play the game with a ton of guts and grit, both are (and will be, in Bey’s scenario) among the most athletic power forwards in the league, and they’re both great two-way players. Josh Smith was able to make one All-Defensive second team throughout his career, and it’s not unreasonable to expect that Bey might be able to do the same. Part of Smith’s career success may have been due to the fact that he played in such great situations in Atlanta. If Bey lands in Toronto, he might be able to emulate an equally successful career.

While booksmakers hold that it’s unlikely the Raptors select Bey, you can use these Canada Betting Codes as incentive to go against the odds. They might just pay off.

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