Veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield joins the 76ers midway through his eighth NBA season, amid a 29-23 start to the season for his now-former Indiana Pacers’ squad.
Get to know the newest Sixer a bit better…
- Chavano Rainer “Buddy” Hield hails from Freeport, The Bahamas.
- Hield moved to the U.S. to play high school basketball at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas, until beginning his college career in 2012.
- Hield played four years of college hoops at the University of Oklahoma (2012-2016), earning many accolades along the way, including:
- Second-Team All-Big 12 (2014)
- First-Team All-Big 12 (2015, 2016)
- Big 12 Player of the Year (2015, 2016)
- Naismith College Player of the Year (2016)
- John R. Wooden Award (2016)
- First-Team All-American (2016)
- In his Wooden Award-Winning senior campaign, Hield averaged 25.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 50.1% from the field and 45.7% from long range.
- Hield was drafted by the Pelicans sixth overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. A couple months into his tenure, Hield was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December 2016.
- He was traded shortly thereafter, joining the Sacramento Kings in February 2017. As a King, Hield won Western Conference Rookie of the Month in March 2017.
- Following his rookie campaign, Hield was named to the All-Rookie First Team.
- Hield made a leap in his third NBA season (2018-2019), averaging 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, shooting 45.8% from the field and 42.7% from deep.
- Hield signed a four-year extension with the Kings in 2019. That season, he scored a career-high 42 points on Jan. 27, 2020.
- A couple weeks later, Hield won the 2020 Three-Point Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend.
- Hield remained with the Kings until February 2022, when he was traded alongside Tyrese Haliburton and Tristan Thompson to the Indiana Pacers.
- In his only full season with the Pacers (2022-23), Hield started in 73 of his 80 appearances. He averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game last season.
- This season with Indiana, Hield has started in 28 of his 51 appearances thus far, averaging 25.7 minutes per game. He has averaged 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game this season, shooting 44.3% from the floor and 38.4% from deep.