When Buddy Hield is in the zone – taking aim from one spot to the next behind the arc, making the net dance with one swish after another – his three-point stroke is a sight to behold.
After practices at Sacramento’s downtown facility, it’s not uncommon for the Kings leading scorer to sink hundreds of long-distance jumpers, so effortlessly, so precisely, that his teammates have grown accustomed to nearly every ball snapping through the nylon moments after leaving his fingertips.
“When he’s shooting on his own, it’s surprising when Buddy misses,” said Kings guard De’Aaron Fox. “With the type of shooter that he is and the confidence he has, you think every single shot is going in, regardless of the level of difficulty.”
His surgical shooting exhibitions behind closed doors have become legendary and his in-game three-point barrages have made it clear he belongs in any conversation about the League’s best outside scorers. Now, Hield wants another chance to prove that when he’s locked in from deep, no one in the world can outshoot him.
A year ago, the Sacramento standout took aim in his first All-Star Weekend 3-Point Contest, a long-stated career goal, and finished third behind eventual champion Joe Harris of the Nets and Stephen Curry of the Warriors. Hield’s 26 points in the first round, buoyed by four money balls from the left corner, topped everyone except Curry (27) on the leaderboard, but his 19 points in the final shootout weren’t enough.
Hield is cautiously optimistic the League will extend him a second consecutive invite to the Saturday-night event. If selected, he’d become the third Kings player to make multiple appearances, joining Mitch Richmond, a semifinalist in 1992, and Peja Stojakovic, a two-time champion (2002 and 2003).
“I’d like to do it again and win it,” Hield said. “I haven’t shot the ball as efficiently as I want to this year, but I’m a better shooter than my percentage shows. If they’ll (select me), I’ll go, for sure.”
After his experience on the big stage last season, he adds, the prospect of standing alone on the famed United Center court on Feb. 15, a clock winding down and the entire basketball world fixated on his shot, doesn’t faze him.
“It’s different when you have a million people watching you, but it’s something you’ve done a million times,” he said. “Just stay locked in and be ready for the opportunity to come. Anything can happen. You don’t know if somebody gets hot and wins it all, so you have to get out of the first round.”
Most importantly?
“You can’t choke,” he emphasized. “When you miss one, you can’t choke.”
Hield rarely misfired his last time around, and given his career track record, it’s hard to imagine many contestants keeping pace with his prolific long-distance prowess.
As usual, the Kings star is smattered in with the top three-point shooters in the NBA over the first half of the season, launching and making the second-most triples, and converting them at a 37.3-percent clip. Among high-volume shooters, percentage-wise, he’s sandwiched between Hawks guard Trae Young, a reported 3-Point Contest invitee this year, and Rockets All-Star James Harden, a two-time participant.
Comparing his numbers to those of players in the 2019 field, Hield has splashed more long-range bombs than every selectee at the same point last season, with the exception of Curry, and is shooting a higher percentage than Kemba Walker, Devin Booker and Dirk Nowitkzi did through 45 games.
After drilling the fourth-most threes in the League in 2018-19 (278), and breaking Stojakovic’s single-season franchise record in the process, Hield is on track to surpass his own mark and become the third player in NBA history to eclipse 300 makes in one year.
The Bahamas native has already made at least seven shots from behind the arc in four games this year – a feat only Harden (nine) and Portland’s Damian Lillard (six) have accomplished more often. On Nov. 25, 2019, the Kings guard drained a franchise record 11 threes, tied for the seventh-most in NBA history.
Although his season-long three-point percentage sits below his career mark, the more-familiar Hield – the one proficient at getting buckets, anywhere and anytime – has reemerged in recent weeks. In January, only Lillard has been a tick more accurate than Sacramento’s No. 24 (41.6 percent) among players with as many attempts. Over his last two games, both wins, Hield has drilled 14-of-23 tries, including nine makes in a historic Kings comeback in Minnesota.
Against the Timberwolves, he scored 20 of his career-high 42 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-6 shooting, including 5-of-5 from three-point range.
“For us, he has to take some tough shots, so I think for sure he’s a top-five shooter in this league,” Fox said. “He’s always ready in big moments. He thrives in those types of moments.”
A frequent catalyst in Sacramento’s rallies from deficits big or small all season long, Hield has narrowed the scoring margin by knocking down 44.2 percent from deep when the Kings have trailed by five points or fewer, per NBA.com. With Sacramento maintaining a double-digit lead, he’s helped put games out of reach by hitting 9-of-21 attempts (42.9 percent).
Prior to Nemanja Bjelica’s unforgettable game-winner in Houston on Dec. 9, it was Hield who evened the score in the closing seconds with a leaning, tightly-contested three. Earlier in the season, he engineered a second-half resurgence against the Nuggets with a pair of swishes from downtown in the final frame, using a Richaun Holmes screen to nail a 25-footer that brought the Kings, once down 17, to within a point.
“You just have to step up; that’s why we’re here,” Hield said. “As a kid, you dream for these moments.”
Adept at creating space by relocating to the corners or wings to receive a pass, the Oklahoma alum has continued to punish defenses for leaving him unguarded. On completely uncontested looks – no defender within six feet per NBA.com – he’s scorched the nets at a 40.9-percent clip. When the closest defender is between four and six feet away, Hield is making 37.3 percent, ahead of Harden, Lillard and Young.
On spot-up jumpers, Hield has been money in the bank, more often than not, with 1.21 points per possession (89th percentile), according to Synergy Sports. Off screens, he’s similarly scored at an excellent level with 1.10 PPP (77th percentile). Firing quick-release jumpers with just a sliver of daylight, he’s connected on 38.6 percent on 5.2 catch-and-shoot attempts per night from deep.
“Buddy is a very efficient shooter with his shot,” said former Kings guard and current color analyst Doug Christie. “It’s compact, it’s tight, he gets it off quickly and he doesn’t have a big base. I’ve watched him since he got here, and it’s gotten tighter and tighter and tighter because he realizes that he has to get it off quicker. To his credit, he’s been able to do that.”
Hield’s ability to shine under pressure is why Christie likes the Sacramento sharpshooter’s chances of capping off a trip to All-Star Weekend with a trophy.
“Since he’s experienced it, I truly believe that he would be able to win it,” Christie said. “Last time, on that first rack, once he saw one go in, he seemed pretty good. Now after experiencing it, I would give him a really good shot at winning it.”
As one of the League’s premier marksmen, whether he’s firing away in an empty gym or when the NBA spotlight is shining its brightest, Hield is eternally confident.
“My chances are always high when I’m betting on myself,” he said. “If they let me (into the contest), I’ll go there to win it.”