Buddy Hield is a guard who is capable of lighting up a scoreboard on any given night. However, as the Philadelphia 76ers came to realise during the 2023-24 season, one of these sublime performances is followed by several inefficient showings that negatively impact the team. After following a similar trend with the Golden State Warriors, the Atlanta Hawks are now falling victim to the devastating Buddy experience.
During his time in Philadelphia, Hield proved to be a useful player in the rotation who could provide a scoring punch from the bench. Over 32 games, the 33-year-old averaged 12.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and three assists per game. Given that 18 of Hield's appearances came from the bench, on paper, this appears to be an impressive stint of the sharpshooting guard's career -- not quite.
Fans quickly became frustrated with the lack of consistency in Hield's performances. It would be easy to blame it on Nick Nurse's sporadic usage of Hield, but his time in Golden State and now Atlanta has proven that the blame lies solely on the player.
Buddy Hield's consistency struggles follow him wherever he lands
While his bromance with Former Sixers star Jimmy Butler thrived in Golden State, his on-court play was not quite as entertaining. Keeping in line with the bulk of his journeyman career, Hield started his time with the Warriors in scorching-hot fashion, then the inefficient performances crept in and began to hinder his team's chances of being successful. Throughout the 2024-25 season, the Oklahoma alum recorded 11.1 points per game, while shooting 41.7% from the floor.
His second year with Golden State did not yield better results from the floor. Hield dropped to a career-low 17.5 minutes and eight points per game. This drop in statistics cannot be solely laid at the door of 'Buddy Buckets', as the Warriors' roster had been ravaged by injury and younger backcourt options, such as Brandin Podziemski, were being prioritized in the rotation.
A decreased role in the rotation established Hield as a prime departure candidate for Golden State, leading to the guard being traded to the Atlanta Hawks alongside Jonathan Kuminga in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis.
Now sporting a Hawks jersey, Hield and his 11-year career have taken another savage blow. In four games with Atlanta, Hield has seen just about five minutes of playing time each appearance. With such limited chances, the results have averaged just 0.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game.
Unfortunately for Buddy Hield, his reputation for being a streaky shooter has preceded him, and it has landed him with a sporadic year in the Atlanta Hawks' rotation. The Philadelphia 76ers fan base will be ecstatic that they now boast more effective options from their secondary unit.