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Buddy Hield just can't stop making history. After becoming the first player since Paul George in 2022 to score at least 20 points in less than 15 minutes of action during his Golden State Warriors debut, the veteran sharpshooter etched his name in the NBA record books all by itself 48 hours later.
A scorching Hield drained seven more triples in the Dubs' laugher of a 127-86 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night, setting a new all-time mark for the most threes any player has made in his first two games with a team.
Hield could definitely have more than 12 total long balls so far, too, if he didn't help lead the Warriors to consecutive blowout victories to tipoff the regular season. It's not just that he's play a grand total of 35 minutes against the Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, yet to appear in the fourth quarter of either game. Hield has also only attempted 16 shots from beyond the arc, never forcing the issue despite a seemingly always hot hand.
Buddy Hield, way-too-early Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner?
Golden State knew full well that Hield might be the most underrated shooter in NBA history upon acquiring him in the sign-and-trade for Klay Thompson. You've surely heard it several times by now while watching and listening to local broadcasts of the Dubs: It's actually Hield, not Curry, who leads the NBA in long-range splashes over the last half decade.
The Dubs again rolled with a planned 12-man rotation in Salt Lake City, and all dozen players who notched regular minutes once again made their unique presence felt. Kerr, remember, didn't decide on that virtually unprecedented approach until two days before the season tipped off. But he knew long before then that Hield would be Golden State's sixth man, an early preseason development owed nearly as much to the 31-year-old's daily approach and relationship with his teammates as the imminent threat he poses to defenses.
Kerr raved about Hield for those same reasons following Friday's game, one in which all but three of his game-high 27 points came before intermission.
“It was incredible watching him that first half. He brings so much energy to the floor,” Kerr said of Hield. “Part of it is the way he plays, seeking those shots, seeking the threes and sprinting the floor. He runs so hard both directions, and sets a tone for us. Then the other part is he's just an incredible person and teammate. Full of joy, the bench is laughing all the time with him. What he brings to the team goes way beyond just his shooting, but that's massive in and of itself. We're thrilled to have Buddy.”
What Kerr didn't mention—and could have him stake the earliest of claims for Sixth Man of the Year this season if it holds going forward—is everything else Hield brought to the table versus Utah along with the shooting prowess and competitive joy that's long been ever-present.
Hield stuffed the stat sheet at Delta Center, adding four rebounds, six assists and a steal to his 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The tape tells just as complete a story. Does this look like the largely one-dimensional specialist Hield has been billed as throughout his eight-year career?
Hield wasn't just a hyper-efficient gunner with some secondary playmaking juice in Portland, either. Not only does he curl around a screen for an effortless catch-and-shoot triple and almost get a steal in nail help on this two-way sequence from the opener, but he then cuts off the ball two separate times to almost single-handedly force a stop.
Hield won't shoot 70% on threes all season. The relentless defensive activity he's shown through the first two games of the season is bound to wane over the 82-game grind, and physical deficiencies leave him more easily exploited against quality competition in the playoffs. Hield's ridiculous plus-minus of +45 isn't exactly sustainable. The Dubs won't play the Blazers or Jazz every night and their big, athletic, janky starting five will surely grow more comfortable with additional reps.
Still, you might want to hop on that +1200 for Hield to win Sixth Man of Year as soon as possible, Dub Nation. He's guaranteed a major role with the Warriors no matter what happens with Kerr's overcrowded rotation or how Mike Dunleavy Jr. re-shapes the roster at the trade deadline, and will continue receiving the steadiest diet of easy looks ever amid Golden State's halfcourt flow and open-court pace.
If the defense and dirty work somehow hold up, too? Hield's Sixth Man of the Year candidacy would be about much more than the on and off-court qualities that have made him a league mainstay—and ensure he's a long-term keeper for the Warriors.
