SACRAMENTO -- Where would the Kings be this season without Buddy Hield?
Like De’Aaron Fox and Willie Cauley-Stein, the third-year shooting guard has taken a huge leap in production. He’s proving that he is more than just a shooter, more than just a scorer.
Following practice Wednesday, the 24-year-old Bahamian spoke to media members with stitches in his right eyelid after catching an elbow in Monday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs. He made sure to share that the 12-inch wound likely would scar.
“Nothing intentional happened in the game, but it’s something that’s going to heal,” Hield said.
The Kings weren’t sure who and what Hield would be as an NBA player when they acquired him as part of the DeMarcus Cousins trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. Taken with the sixth selection in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma, Hield came into the league a pure scorer with very little conscience.
He has fit perfectly into the new uptempo style that Kings coach Dave Joerger is promoting. Hield’s shooting ability has opened the floor for others, and he continues to improve in all facets of the game.
“Our style of play, us making shots, playing together, playing free,” Hield said of why he thinks the team is off to such a fast start. “Coach is doing a great job of going over game plans and trying to find ways that we can score, score in the right spots, score quickly as we can. Our pace is good, but we’re trying to have good possessions and try to exploit mismatches.”
Three years into his NBA career, Hield continues to develop. He’s become a tremendous rebounder for his position, ranking third in the league amongst shooting guards at 5.6 boards per game. Only Victor Oladipo and DeMar DeRozan average more per game at the position.
As a passer, Hield has come a long way as well. For the season, he’s averaging 2.7 assists, which is a far cry from the 1.5 per game he posted as a rookie or the 1.9 assists he averaged last season.
Like Fox, Hield is showing signs of maturity both on and off the court. He came into the NBA as a flashy scorer and a flashy personality, but he seems more grounded in his third season.
[RELATED: Fox shares reason behind his improved 3-point shooting]
“You want people to take notice, but us, as a young group, you can’t get too high, you know, the league is 82 games and anything can happen,” Hield said about the Kings’ early success. “You can hit a winning streak, you can hit a losing streak. You want to stay content and stay humble and just keep winning, man. Just keep growing and growing as a group.”
“We’re trying to change the culture around here,” Hield added. “The culture is try to get us to the playoffs and we’re just trying to take it one game at a time.”
Over the last few games, Hield’s stats have been all over the board. After posting 17 points or more in 10 of the first 11 games of the season, he’s averaging 13.7 points over the last three games. The team has had to adjust to the return of Bogdan Bogdanovic, who's missed 11 games early in the season with a knee injury.
“You’ve just got to find a rhythm,” Hield said. “The first 12 games, I was playing the whole first quarter. I’ve got to figure out how to find that balance, and we know that Bogi’s a special part of our team.”
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[RELATED: Now healthy, Bogdan has lofty goals for Kings, including playoffs]
The two have a special bond. They vacationed together in Serbia over the summer, and Hield has credited the 26-year-old European star with helping him grow his understanding of the game.
Hield’s role will continue to evolve as the season continues. He’s averaging a career-best 18.7 points on 47.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from long range in 31.1 minutes game. In addition to knocking down a higher percentage of shots, Hield is getting to the free throw line 2.5 times per game, another huge improvement over last season’s 1.0 attempts per night.
In his third season in the league, Hield is figuring out the game, and he’s a big reason for the Kings’ early success. Whether he stays in the starting lineup long term or transitions back to a sixth-man role with Bogdanovic’s return is uncertain at this time.
What we do know is that Hield has made his case with a strong start to the season, and he’s earned his spot as one of the team’s young building blocks.