Malik Beasley
Detroit Pistons

Player Facts

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 187lbs.

Wingspan: 6'7"

Date of Birth: Nov. 26, 1996
College Experience: Florida State (1 year)

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 9
Physical Strength: 6
Positional Size: 7
Positional Wingspan: 6
Paint Scoring: 5
Midrange Scoring: 6
Three-Point Scoring: 8
Dribbling: 7
Passing: 5
Perimeter Defense: 4
Interior Defense: 2
Rebounding: 5

Embed from Getty Images

JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Spot-Up Ace

> Off-Ball Motion

> Transition Explosion

> 2PT/On-Ball Scoring

> Passing Flashes

> Defensive Sieve

> Scorer/Passer Limitations

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

*All short clips courtesy of NF & ZH Highlights (YouTube)

*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

Malik Beasley stands at 6-foot-4 with a 6'7" reach. He's a nuclear athlete who excels racing in transition and as a high-volume shooter. The former Seminole's elite spot-up jump shot is a tool that he can turn to when playing his high-motor off-ball game.

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Spot-Up Ace

Beasley has grown into a full-fledged spot-up killer on high volume with an intuitive ability to relocate (lift/drift). Combining his 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 campaigns, he nailed 40.9% of his catch-and-shoot treys.

2021-2022 had him can 196 spot-up threes on a strong 38.1% clip. He uses his springy lower half to get great elevation on his well-balanced triple tries. 2022-2023 saw him connect on the seventh-most threes total in the Association. 2023-2024 was another strong year playing off of Bucks' stars.

Malik averaged the second-most points in the NBA on spot-ups in 2020-2021, trailing only Marcus Morris Sr. The guard was in the 95th percentile for this playtype. What his uphill gravity does for the his team is foster roomier driving lanes for the higher-usage players.

Off-Ball Motion

Malik is by no means a standstill, feet-must-be-set type of shooter either. He can be used to fly off screens, come off curls, or cut to be a threat. Beasley possesses what may very well be an underrated, well-rounded off-ball package.

Beas also has the capability of gaining a head of steam to attack after utilizing an away-from-the-play screen. Similar to players like Jaylen Brown or Malcolm Brogdon, Malik's optimal means of attacking is through the simple straight-line drive.

Transition Explosion

Beasley gets to flaunt his acceleration ability and exceptional bounce on the break. These are the times when he pounds jams that end up on highlight mixes.

The stats back him up, as he averaged the same number of transition points per night as Donovan Mitchell in 2020-2021 – plus Malik was 12.1% more efficient in these chances. Now in LA, he can be a streaking target for hit-ahead passes from the likes of LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and D'Angelo Russell.

2PT/On-Ball Scoring

Inside the confines of the half-court game, Beasley can still offer reasonable on-ball value with some two-point chops (54% eFG% in 2020-2021). He uses his speed to attack creases in the defense well. Malik is arguably at his most effective when decisively bursting through a seam that a teammate's prior penetration created.

The score-first guard can also handle in screen-and-rolls with the primary purpose of depositing points himself. He loves to look for the one-dribble pull-up three or even mini-stepback right off the pick (shot > 36% on all pull-up threes in 2022-2023).

His quick-trigger jumper works well in these spots, with Malik getting it off in that short window of time before his man gets back in the play.

In P-n-R, Beasley will also get to the cup or even stop and rise up in two-point land for a jump shot. He shot a very respectable 45% on midrangers in 2020-2021, though on not a huge volume. All told, he scored a sizable chunk of his points in these actions and as a DHO-recipient with a similar attacking style.

Passing Flashes

He will also show you glimpses of being a higher-level playmaker than one may think. The odd skip pass to the opposite corner shows what Beasley is capable of. Making these one-off's more commonplace would help markedly elevate his game. Malik is already a low-turnover player as it stands though.

He will also do a good job of making to pass down to his roller off of pet DHO sets. Anthony Davis has benefitted from these sort of feeds now that they are both donning the purple and gold. Malik has surprisingly deft touch on crisp bounceers and little lob passes of this variety.

WEAKNESSES

Defensive Sieve

Beasley's got a few glaring weak points that he will hopefully smooth over as he continues to develop. To start, Malik is just a straight up poor defender no matter if you are going by eye test or the advanced metrics. He has been on some lackluster defensive teams, but his individual work has regardless been shoddy.

The Florida State product has all the physical tools and then some to be an impact 2-3 position perimeter defender. What holds him back is a combination of some poor positioning, engagement lapses, ball-watching, and a general lethargy at times on this end. Having apathy toward playing hard defense is not going to cut it at the highest level.

Smaller guards like Eric Bledsoe, Terry Rozier, and Lou Williams all hung 50%+ shooting on Malik for the 2020-2021 season. Stepping back, he held all backcourt players he checked to nearly 49% shooting from the field that year. 2020-2021 also had him in the 13th percentile defending pick-and-roll initiators.

Scorer/Passer Limitations

Switching ends, Malik could make strides as a playmaker beyond just being solid. The two-guard sports uninspiring AST/TO ratios yearly despite having played with star talents like Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Development here would help even out his threat levels when operating in the screen-and-roll rather than being a clear score-first player as it is now.

Beasley's next area of weakness is a bit shocking given his athletic profile. His clips inside the key are uninspiring despite being a head-at-the-rim type of athlete. The problem therein is his recurring lack of a plan attacking the hole, which can leave him in iffy finishing positions.

The 6'4" guard shot merely 55.4% on rim looks and 40.2% on all other paint shots in 2020-2021. 2022-2023 saw him finally be efficient here but on a trivial volume of attempts created mostly by others. He also struggles to get to the charity stripe.

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bacon
Beacon Bacon

Malik was on a Florida State Seminoles squad flanked by Terance Mann and Dwayne Bacon