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Buddy Hield Named Western Conference Rookie of the Month

January 3, 2017 

NEW ORLEANS – The NBA announced today that New Orleans Pelicans guard Buddy Hield has been named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in December.

Hield, 23, led West rookies in scoring (10.6 ppg) and three-point field goal percentage (.478) and topped all first-year players in three-pointers made (33). The 6-4 guard scored in double figures nine times in 16 games, including 12 or more points in each of the final three games of December (a 3-0 stretch for New Orleans). On Dec. 15, Hield set career-highs with 21 points and five three-pointers in a 102-95 victory against the Indiana Pacers.

Drafted sixth overall out of the University of Oklahoma in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Freeport, Bahamas, native is averaging 8.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists through his first 36 games (16 starts). Additionally, Hield is shooting .364 (55-of-151) from three-point range and .920 (23-of-25) from the free throw line.

Hield is the fourth recipient of the award in New Orleans franchise history and the first since Darren Collison in February of 2010. He joins J.R. Smith (three times), Chris Paul (six times), and Collison (once) as the only players in franchise history to earn Rookie of the Month honors.