Buddy Hield was built for big moments — and Oklahoma, college basketball fans knew it all along

Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield has played nine seasons in the NBA for five different teams during his rollercoaster professional career. He signed a four-year contract with the Warriors last summer, which marked his third team in three years. He is known as one of the best 3-point shooters of his generation and has connected on 39.7% of his attempts during his lengthy career.

Hield’s impact on basketball dates back to his time at Oklahoma, when he won Naismith College Player of the Year in 2016. During that year, he helped Oklahoma advance to the Final Four and established himself as one of the best college basketball players of the 2010s. Hield just missed the cut in Matt Norlander’s ranking of the biggest college stars of the 21st century. 

In Game 7 on the road against the Houston Rockets last weekend, Hield delivered the most impactful performance of his NBA career, scoring 33 points in his team’s 103-89 win. Hield also tied the record for the most 3-pointers (nine) made in a Game 7 to help the Warriors advance to the second round, where it will face the Minnesota Timberwolves.

His performance in a win-or-go-home game was reminiscent of how he played during his final season at Oklahoma, which included a 46-point outburst against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse and a 37-point showing against Oregon in the Elite Eight to send the Sooners to their first Final Four in 14 years.

“Just trying to seize the moment and relish the moment and just be in the moment at the same time,” Hield told reporters after the 103-89 win over Houston. “Just trying to be myself. But tonight was fun.”

During his four-year career at Oklahoma, Hield averaged 17.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He averaged 25 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists during his final collegiate season and was projected to go in the top five of the 2016 NBA Draft. Hield was selected with the No. 6 overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans but was traded just 57 games into his rookie season. 

Hield was the centerpiece on the other side of the trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins from Sacramento to New Orleans. Hield’s calling card since entering the NBA has been as a microwave scorer.  His six-year stint with the Kings was full of highs and lows. He averaged the most points of his career (20.7) during the 2018-19 campaign but was relegated to the bench during his final season with the Kings three years later.

Hield made his postseason debut last spring with the Philadelphia 76ers, appearing in just four games while averaging 5.5 points. Hield started four of the seven games against the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs and averaged 10.9 points, which included his signature performance in Game 7.

Hield hasn’t been known for his defense at the NBA level but impressed when it mattered most. He recorded two blocks and a steal in the biggest game of his basketball career since a loss to Villanova in the Final Four over nine years ago.

“This was not just a lights-out shooting performance for Buddy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was a two-way performance. I thought his defense was fantastic.”

There are four players in the NBA Playoffs remaining who have held the crown as a one-time National Player of the Year at the college level: Hield, Jalen Brunson, Luka Garza and Obi Toppin. Hield will likely never make the NBA All-Star team or be the best player on his team, but for one night, he channeled his inner college self and sent the Warriors to the next round of the NBA Playoffs.