Yield To Hield: How Buddy Hield Is Shooting His Way Towards Sixth Man of the Year
Through seven games this year, Buddy Hield has easily been one of the best breakout players in basketball this season. Despite Stephen Curry missing three of seven games to start the year, Hield has been more than capable of carrying the load offensively. Just like with many other shooters in the past, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is doing a great job of finding open looks for his new sharpshooter, acquired from the 76ers in the offseason via a sign and trade. This production is much needed for the Warriors, as they lost key veterans Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, and Dario Šarić in free agency.
Even though Hield played the same amount of minutes per game for the Sixers last year as he has for the Warriors this year, he is averaging nearly 10 more points per game due to a massive increase in volume. Hield is averaging 15 field goals attempted per game and 9.4 three pointers attempted per game. Despite this high volume, his efficiency remains impeccable, shooting a whopping 50 percent from behind the arc and 51.4 percent from the field. These two percentages, along with 21.9 points per game are all career highs. Furthermore, despite coming off of the bench in six of seven games, Hield leads the team in scoring as Stephen Curry has yet to reach 20 points per game on the year. While Hield’s efficiency is bound to decrease, his shooting talent and high usage rate will give him a great chance to win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
Other contenders for the award include Malik Monk who has gotten off to a poor start to his 2024-25 season. Sharpshooting guards Payton Pritchard and Tre Mann as well as last year’s winner, Naz Reid. However, based on the small sample size the Warriors have shown, assuming Hield remains in good health, the only thing stopping him from winning the award could be a possible move to the starting lineup. This is unlikely, as Hield has not started for the team since his one start in their fourth game of the season versus the Pelicans, but if he continues to produce at this level it certainly remains possible. Luckily for Hield, the NBA does not have a rule in place on how many games a player must come off the bench in, as long as the player comes off the bench in more games than he starts throughout the season. Hield and the Warriors will look to continue their success against the defending champs on Wednesday night, as the Celtics will provide the Warriors with a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals.
