So, it turns out us all thinking Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield was 25 years old instead of 26 is all Oklahoma's fault.
Apparently, when the Oklahoma Athletic Department submitted Hield's paperwork to the NBA at the time of the draft in 2016, they made a typo in his birthdate, which led to everyone believing he was a year younger than he actually is:
Uh, alright.
This is bizarre, to say the least. I can't think of any scenario where this has happened before. The best part is, Hield probably saw his bio at some point over the last couple of years and noticed the age.
Unless Hield was wondering if his parents lied to him about his birthdate, he had to know there was an error there, which makes this all the more hilarious.
But, in all seriousness, that one year actually does make a pretty big difference.
In the NBA, one year in age can mean all of the difference between earning a four-year or a three-year deal. Hield comes up for his first big contract at the end of next season. At that point, he will be 27 years old.
Let's also not forget that Hield was a rare four-year college player, something you don't see very often these days. As a result, he is quite a bit older than his peers in the 2016 NBA Draft class, which can absolutely have an effect on his value moving forward.
This season, Buddy Hield is averaging 19.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 30.8 minutes per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor, 43.3 percent from 3-point range and 86.2 percent from the free-throw line.