Why Hield doesn’t feel pressure to replace Warriors icon Thompson originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Many NBA players, especially veterans, tend to avoid identifying influences still active in the game. For someone preparing for their ninth year in the league, it’s reasonable to feel above such idolatry.
The Warriors’ newest member doesn’t care. Buddy Hield’s Perspectiveformed during a childhood with great dignity but little finances, it allows him the freedom to comfortably recognize those he studied.
One being his new teammate with the Warriors:Stephen Curry.
Another is the man whose departure from the Warriors, Klay Thompson, created the void that Hield’s projects were supposed to fill.
“Steph is one of them for sure. I watched Klay too,” Hield told NBC Sports Bay Area on Thursday. “Because my shot doesn’t go over my head like Ray Allen or Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. So I had to watch the fluidity of their shot. Steph, Klay, maybe a little Devin Booker. Antonio Morro. Kevin Martin. I watched these guys and how they hit and how I can be effective.”
Hield’s shot is his password. That gave him access to the University of Oklahoma, where, as a senior, he was a consensus first-team All-America in 2016 and won top Player of the Year awards. The shot opened the door to the NBA, where his 3-point shot with Career 40 percent is third — behind only Curry and Thompson — among active players with more than 4,000 attempts.
Drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans (sixth overall), Hield was traded as a rookie to the Sacramento Kings, who in 2022 traded him to the Indiana Pacersthat last February traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers. Upon becoming an unrestricted free agent, he re-signed with Philly as part of the sign-and-trade agreement that put him in Golden State.
Hield was introduced to Bay Area media at the San Francisco State University gymnasium, where he was participating in his first Warriors Basketball Academy camp. It’s the kind of camp he’s operated for years in the Bahamas, where he was born, raised and became so addicted to basketball that he created his own makeshift hoop and backboard.
A ball and a hoop were a safe haven in miserable Eight Mile Rock, the largest settlement in the Grand Bahamas. Basketball was a popular sport on the island – Thompson’s father, Mychal, grew up there – and Hield took up basketball because he loved it. And, well, also to escape the traps that accompany poverty and that often lead to illicit activities.
One of the first pitchers to catch Buddy’s attention was a man named Miko. He had all the assets necessary for greatness, but he took a rebellious turn that resulted in him selling drugs and ultimately being shot to death.
“The boys may have had the opportunity to play basketball,” Hield said. “But the other way they worked and made money was by trafficking drugs. They didn’t have the guidance that I received from my mother and grandmother. They put me in the right direction to stay focused on basketball.
“I was very happy to have my mother and grandmother to guide me on the right path, where I wouldn’t fall into that kind of path.”
Hield and her six siblings were blessed with the constant presence of their mother, Jackie Swann, who was the mother most neighborhoods have – or need. Her principles have earned the respect of everyone, including those who might otherwise have persuaded Buddy into their lives.
These guys never forced it because they always knew it was just a window,” Hield recalled. “It’s just that you’re either dead or in prison.
“And they never forced it on the kids. These guys know that my mother grew up there when she was young, so there was a great level of respect between them. They know my mom is a super spiritual Christian woman, so they didn’t play with her.”
Hield, 31, is a mama’s boy. Proud of it. Her love has guided him since birth and it will never go away. During part of his time at college in Oklahoma, he shared his accommodations, including his bed, with his mother. She provided perspective and direction, a plan for life.
It was others, however, who provided basketball instruction. It was up to Buddy to decide whether he would follow. He has earned over $100 million in his career. His contract with the Warriors is worth $37.8 million over four years, with a player option in Year 4.
The final season of Thompson’s contract, which ended in June, was worth $43.2 million.
Hield, who will likely inherit the Sixth Man role that Thompson filled at times last season, was asked Thursday if he felt any “pressure” to replace a franchise legend who happens to share his Bahamian roots.
“There’s no pressure,” Hield said. “Just come and do my job. What Klay did for this organization was tremendous. I love Klay so much. I’ve watched him over the years. He’s special. The way he can get hot and how he can just change the game and be the two-way player that he is and the champion that he is.
“So I don’t see it as pressure. I think it’s fun to be in that role and see if I can look like him.”
The path Hield has taken manages to minimize what others might consider pressure. When he says it’s “fun” to hunt buckets for the Warriors, it seems rational to believe him.
