2020 NBA draft profile: Tyler Bey has a ton of defensive tools

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Tyler Bey

Position: Wing
Height: 6-7
Weight: 215
School: Colorado

The successor to Matisse Thybulle as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Tyler Bey averaged 13.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks as a junior for the Buffaloes.

He was one of only six players in Division I this season to post those steal and block rates.

However, a lot of Bey’s blocks came while defending in the paint and that won’t be the case at the NBA level. With a skinny 6-foot-7 frame, he’s not going to have the strength or height to guard NBA post players. He does have the tools to be a switchable wing defender, which gives him a shot to make it.

Strengths

Bey has good lateral and vertical quickness, which is a great combination for an NBA wing defender. He has the timing and quick-leaping ability to block jump shots, which he did multiple times in his junior season.

There was a sequence against Stanford when Bey was switched onto 6-foot-2 Tyrell Terry, once of the quicker guards in the country. Bey had the foot speed to stay with the driving Terry and was able to block his layup attempt. 

Bey also has excellent anticipation to jump into passing lanes and get steals. When opponents threw lazy passes anywhere near him, Bey usually came away with the ball. He has a ton of defensive tools to work with.

On the offensive end, Bey’s biggest strength is his nose for the ball as an offensive rebounder. He’s a quick leaper with a real knack for getting tip-ins and second-chance baskets. 

He has a nice mid-range jumper and Colorado often let him operate from the foul-line area, where he could either turn and shoot or try to find open teammates. 

Weaknesses

Unfortunately, Bey wasn’t very good at finding those open teammates. He averaged 1.5 assists and 2.4 turnovers, which is a horrendous assist-to-turnover ratio.

You may be tempted to look at Bey’s 41.9 percent three-point shooting this season and think “NBA 3-and-D guy," but a closer look shows that’s probably a pipe dream. Bey made a total of 18 three-pointers in three seasons at Colorado and was 13 for 31 as a junior. Many of those looks were wide open because opponents were content to let him shoot.

His offensive perimeter game is limited, in part because he spent so much time playing in the post in college. At best, Bey is going to be a project on the offensive end of the floor.

Fit

I won’t be surprised if a team loves Bey’s defensive potential enough to take him late in the first round or in the top half of the second round, but I seriously doubt the Sixers will be that team.

They already have a potentially elite young defensive player with a questionable perimeter shot in Thybulle. Why add another one, especially on a team with another elite perimeter defender in Ben Simmons?

The Sixers need shooting and there should be enough shooters still on the board that I can’t see the Sixers going with Bey with either of their two early second-round picks (No. 34 and No. 36). If he lasts into the back half of the second round, then maybe the defensive potential is too great to pass up. But my guess is another team will snap him up first.

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