The three-point revolution changed the way NBA teams play forever. After all, simple mathematics dictates that three points are worth more than two. Thus, the value of players who can bomb from long range with both efficiency and volume is at an all-time high. On Wednesday night, however, Indiana Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield proved that he's not just an ordinary marksman from long range.
Hield added six more triples to his name, as he ended up with 27 points to lead the way for the Pacers' 24-point comeback against the slumping Chicago Bulls in a 117-113 win. In doing so, Hield achieved Pacers sharpshooting immortality.
Now having tallied 230 triples on the season following yet another onslaught from deep, Buddy Hield has surpassed Reggie Miller for the most three-point field goals made in a single season in Pacers franchise history, per the official Pacers Twitter account. Hield accomplished the feat in just 60 games – 21 less than what it took Miller to tally 229 during the 1996-97 season.
Clearly, Miller's era was a different time in NBA history. That was when plenty of players still settled for long twos instead of taking a few steps back to claim an extra point. During Miller's record season, he only took around 43 percent of his overall field goal attempts from three. Meanwhile, Hield is taking around 65 percent of his shots from deep.
Nevertheless, Reggie Miller still managed to tally the fourth-most productive three-point shooting season of the 1990s, trailing only Dennis Scott, George McCloud, and Mookie Blaylock. However, another caveat in Miller's feat is that from the 1994-95 to the 1996-97 season, the three-point line was a uniform 22 feet from the hoop. Basically every three-point attempt was a corner three.
While Buddy Hield's overall game doesn't particularly come close to that of Miller's, Hield could comfortably slot himself as arguably the league's best shooter not named Stephen Curry or Damian Lillard. Hield takes bonkers three-point attempts on a regular basis, and he has made them at an incredible 42.6 percent thus far this season.
Hield's mastery of the three-point shot will be put to the test once more when he competes in the upcoming Three-Point Contest this Saturday. The 30-year old sniper will be hoping he can channel the magic of his 2020 Three-Point Contest win. And with how well he's shooting the ball, it's hard to bet against him doing so.
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