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When the Golden State Warriors lost Klay Thompson, there was only one player who stood out as the ideal replacement for the three-point marksmanship that they lost: Buddy Hield. Hield has made 1,929 threes since entering the league — only second to Stephen Curry during that span (Curry has 2,157). In what's looking like the perfect marriage, Hield has indeed been enjoying his life as a Warrior thus far, which is very evident in the way he played during their 139-104 demolition of the Portland Trail Blazers on opening night.
Hield's skillset, diligent movement off the ball, and his accuracy from beyond the arc that doesn't seem to be affected by being off-balance or being heavily contested make him such a hand and glove fit for the Warriors' offensive system. And Hield certainly thinks that this style of play is the right one for him, as it reminds him of the agency he had over his decision-making during his illustrious collegiate stint for the Oklahoma Sooners.
“I don’t want to bring it up, but I think the last time I was free like this was at Oklahoma,” Hield said, per Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, via HoopsHype.
Back in Oklahoma, Hield had carte blanche as he commandeered his team's offense. During his senior year, Hield won the Wooden Award — which shows how electric he was as he led the Sooners all the way to the Final Four of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, falling short to the eventual champion Villanova in the end.
Of course, once Hield got into the league, he found himself restricted by the more rigid structures that teams have in place. He was no longer the big fish in a smaller pond; he had to buy into his role to earn minutes. But with the Warriors, the freedom of making decisions baked into the team's offense is allowing Hield to thrive — he scored 22 points in just 15 minutes during his regular-season debut for the Dubs.
This should only mean good things for Hield and the Warriors moving forward. What he will need, however, is to temper his expectations, as he's battling with plenty of other talented players for a consistent spot in Steve Kerr's rotation, although it looks like he'll be one of the players Kerr relies upon the most.
Buddy Hield makes it rain as the Warriors dominate on opening night
The Warriors have placed quite the emphasis on the three-point shot to begin the 2024-25 season. Since the offseason, Steve Kerr has been imploring his players to let it fly from beyond the arc as a means of collectively filling the void that Klay Thompson's departure left, and on Wednesday night, they indeed made it rain despite the roof being closed on Moda Center.
Despite missing their first nine three-point attempts on opening night, they still finished the game with 20 made three-pointers on 48 attempts (41.7 percent). Buddy Hield was responsible for five of those triples, and he ended up leading the team in scoring despite his limited minutes. This certainly looks like a mutualistic relationship between Hield and the Dubs.
