The Philadelphia 76ers are all too familiar with Buddy Hield. Having played for them not too long agom the fanbase is definitely not foreign to his one-dimensional play, which has a pretty lofty ceiling and an incredibly deep floor. Now, it seems like another franchise is dealing with the lows of his game in the form of the Golden State Warriors.
Hield, who is now in his 10th season as a pro, has been on a steep decline so far in this campaign. He is averaging a career-low 17.4 minutes per game, and even that feels too generous given his putrid play on both ends for the middling Warriors. Sounds familiar? Well, during his brief stint in Philly, the team got to experience just how mercurial he can be.
The veteran sharpshooter only got to play in 32 regular season games and four playoff contests for the 76ers in 2024, yet the franchise did not even need more to adjuged his fate with the team. The front office did not even bother chasing him back in free agency, and really, there was no reason to even want him to return. Hield went on to sign with Golden State, though his second season with the franchise has been an absolute downer.
Warriors are making a Buddy Hield realization the 76ers know too well
Hield, who will still go down as one of the most lethal shooters of his generation, is draining just 32.9 percent of his threes. For the first time in his career, he is canning threes below the league-average rate — and it isn’t even close. Previously, his career-low mark in the department is 36.8 percent, which is still an impressive figure for a player who takes so many threes.
The 33-year-old has never really been known for being an all-around player. Even at his very best, his value is tied to his volume three-point shooting, and when his shots are not falling, it is difficult to keep him on the floor. He is not a playmaker by nature, nor is he a positive presence on the defensive end.
The 76ers got a full taste of just how low his lows could get. Fans can probably still remember the huge stinker he turned in their first-round series against the Knicks during the 2024 playoffs where he did not even sniff the floor in two games, playing extremely poorly outside of a fiery shooting performance in Game 6 that was a little too late.
To make matters worse, Hield is signed for two more seasons after the current one, so the Warriors are probably kicking themselves in the shin for committing to him for that long. Luckily, the 76ers saw the bigger picture and passed up on the veteran, lest they would have ended up being the ones to assume this misery.