In Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, Buddy Hield shot 8-15 from beyond the arc. The seventh made three brought Buddy to 1,000 career three pointers made. In the history of the NBA, only 120 players have made it above 1,000 career three pointers, and no player has done it as fast as Buddy Hield. Buddy reached the mark in just 350 career games, beating the previous record of 369 games by Stephen Curry.
It’s an interesting milestone, even if it ultimately isn’t a very important one. Given how much older Buddy was when he entered the league, he’s unlikely to ever finish among the league’s all-time three point scorers. Curry is four years older than Buddy, and is second in NBA history 2,659 threes made. If Buddy maintains his current career pace, another 4 years would put him around 350 more threes.
This mark is an interesting note, but it feels fitting that it happened in such a disappointing game. Buddy’s accomplishments from beyond the arc have never been able to truly elevate the Kings as a team. Whether that’s Buddy fault or not is a different discussion, but last night was more of the same. Buddy had a great night from three, hit a noteworthy milestone, and yet it didn’t matter.
This one statistic ought to give pause to those who think that Hield should be given away to any team willing to offer a bike lock and pocket lint just to be rid of him.
Buddy has plentiful flaws as a player, but the thing that he’s good at, he’s really good at. Shooters of his caliber will always be valued in the NBA, and this record is just further proof at how elite he is in that regard. Other teams understand that, and I’m grateful that McNair appears to understand it.
What about a bike lock, pocket lint, AND some used bubble gum?
I hope we get to see how valued it is, because I think his subpar defense, atrocious turnovers and low BBIQ outweigh his shooting ability. I think this stat is useless and would take the trade for pocket lint and a bike lock and call it addition by subtraction.
However, if Buddy gets traded for something worthwhile, I will gladly eat crow. I actually hope you’re right.
The thing is, his skillset is more replaceable than ever in today’s NBA. At his contract, he is overpriced for what he does. Does he make a lot of three? Yes, but he is also 4th in attempts and he is also shooting at a career worst from there as well. 36.9% is right around the league average.
I’m on your team with this one.
It’s crazy. 10 years ago Dorell Wright led the NBA with 6.3 3s per game. Only 10 guys shot 5 or more a game. And only 1 of them hit more than 40%. This year, there are 70 guys shooting 5 or more per game. 3 guys are shooting more than 10 a game. 22 of those 70 are hitting better than 40%.
Absolutely Adamsite. Replaceable especially in today’s NBA.
Oh you are correct Adam. What’s incorrect is the headline.
Buddy is the fastest to 1000 3’s and 600 turnovers! Unfuckingbelievable for every 10 3’s we get 6 stand alone turnovers. I wonder why we haven’t gotten any good offers?
This is pretty much what I was going to write as well. I’ll add that this year he appears to be trying on defense, which is commendable, but also alarming as he’s still very bad on defense. More than anything tho, his low bball IQ and untimely turnovers are too much to bear. Buddy sometimes keeps the Kings in games, but i feel he more frequently has costly stumbles and lapses that kill momentum at crucial points.
Buddy needs to be sandwiched in between players like Embiid and Simmons rather than being a top scorer on a team.
Amen brother.
This is why he has value and we should not sell low, and make him and new team look like a rock star. In a proper system with a complete team, Buddy will kill it. That is not us now (and no clear indication of when – hopefully sooner with mcNair)
His value is really limited. At this point he’s a streak 3 point shooter, who is 28 on a long term contract that doesn’t reflect his market value, he provides little else, and has known deficits in several areas that matter for wins. The contract goes down, but it’s still brutal for Buddy’s performance outside his contract drive.
He might also have a hint of “malcontent” attached to him right now as well. I think that’s probably overstated some, but it could factor in.
I think McNair just hasn’t been able to find a deal he likes, since Buddy’s overall production vs. salary is pretty low right now. If the contract wasn’t such a killer, he’d probably be gone already.
Your point on his actual skillset tells me Buddy would be good as a very specific type of role player on a good NBA team making about a third of what he does now. For the Kings, paying $26 million this year for that type of role player is a travesty.
What about at his actual salary?
Can the bike lock play SF? And is the pocket lint on an expiring contract?
Let’s not forget that the one thing he’s really good is the thing he’s not really good at sometimes because of bad decisions and coaching. He’s one of the best in the league at shooting threes when his feet are set but it drops off fast when he puts on his Curry and Harden impressions.
Harden and Curry have top flight handles. More of a corner three, aging vet for a better comparison, sadð
Congratulations, Buddy!
See, Fox? Even a Dog can do it!
What about the GOAT?
Pictured above: Marvin Bagley on defense.
Congrats Buddy!
The way NBA basketball is played today, I doubt this record will last that long. Who knows what the all-time 3-pointer leader boards will even look like in a decade. I remember when Peja was top 6 all-time in 3s. Now, he’s 22nd, right behind Kyle Lowry of all people, with multiple other active players on his tail, poised to pass him as well.
SELL HIGH!
Tank Watch, Version 2021: The Cavs play the Rockets tonight. Who do we root for? Can they both get a W tonight for the Kings sake?
I think for me you just assume you’re not catching Cleveland and just let them go.
GO ROCKETS!
Cleveland winning is better at least for today
We already caught Cleveland. We have all forgotten that the Rockets have lost 11 straight due to our own recent streak. To me, the Rockets look horrid, even with Wall.
They’ll improve when Wood comes back, but it’s gonna be close. I say go Rockets. To me Cleveland has nowhere to go but up. Their young core is coming together and playing better. Plus Jarrett Allen is gonna help them. It wouldn’t shock me at all if they finish better than the current Kings. They also still have Kevin Love to return. He’s gonna help as well.
We’ll see what they get for Drummond. But the return from that trade PLUS Allen getting more minutes could give them a decent boost in the standings.
I actually like Cleveland’s young core. Garland, Sexton, Okoro, and Allen is a much better core going forward than what the Kings currently have. The Cavs made out great in the Harden deal.
now imagine ANOTHER top 5 pick with that core.
I’m not such a big fan of that group. There are certainly things to like, but ultimately I don’t see any of those guys being more than a 4-7 rotation guy on a good team. Allen is my favorite of that group and I think the on easiest to slot in as a starter on a good team.
the Cavs should trade Cedi + Prince for Buddy to compliment their young core with a veteran shooter IMO.
Imagine Buddy as the vet. Ok guys no need to work on what you lack! Just keep doing the one thing you are good at. Is it the best way to win…NO, but it is the best way to a near max contract!
Good god I looked at the standings, saw Minnesota at the bottom, and typed we should just let Cleveland go.
10 lashes.
Probably Houston. Though they were playing really well before Wood got hurt. So they could go on a run when he finally comes back.
Would a tie help LMAO
Buddy is an expert at throwing a ball both through a hoop and off his foot.
Achieving an obscure milestone shouldn’t overshadow the lack of defense, poor ball handling and lower BBIQ. He’s something of a one-trick pony. Add in his contract and his temper tantrum last year about not starting and I’d be just as happy to see him go. Unfortunately every other front office in the league knows his shortcomings too. Good luck with this one Monte.
I am tired of this trope of his terrible IQ because of his turnovers. It just seems like a dog whistle to call him dumb. His TOV% is 11.0, which is less than Tyrese (12.5), Fox (13.6), Holmes (12.7), and a player who seems constantly praised for his IQ, Bjelica (13.6). It is just so lazy.
Two things. First, BBIQ is VERY different than general IQ. It’s a terrible term and we should find a better one. But to say a player has low BBIQ is in no way saying he has low general IQ or is dumb. Second, and much less important, TO% isn’t really a direct reflection of [insert new term for BBIQ here].
I do agree that, often, BBIQ applied to describe players in lazy, biased ways.
Well said, “low BBIQ” does not mean dumb.
Also, given that Buddy attempts to do so much less with the ball than do Fox or Haliburton — he doesn’t drive into traffic to create plays for others — his having only a slightly lower turnover rate than they do does not seem like a point in his favor. If you are mostly a catch-and-shoot guy your TOV % should be pretty low.
Low basketball IQ is a lazy or uninformed way of describing the problem. I don’t see any fundamental problems on offense.
On defense he’s a complete mess. His feet are a little frumpy so he has that to overcome with his on ball defense. He can mitigate that with proper technique but his technique is awful. His spacing on ball is often to close to his opponent but most importantly he constantly influences his player to the wrong side. It’s especially apparent when he’s guarding his opponent in the corner. The cardinal sin is to let him out and drive to the middle from there which he constantly allows to happen. From that position the only route for his player should be the baseline where he’ll likely run into a trap assuming proper help defense. Away from the ball two and three passes away he’s completely lost. He should always be in position where he sees both his player and ball but he’s often hugging his player, and he can’t see the ball to identify the proper rotations so he’s rarely in proper helping position and highly susceptible to the off ball screen which is why he often gets beaten back door. His only redeeming quality is that his on ball near the post defense is actually decent as he uses his bulk well but unfortunately that’s not where he’s required to play defense most of the time.
The bottom line for evaluating every player is their value to the team relative to their salary. Buddy at 40 percent of his current contract would be decent value.
I’m going to suggest that given the players that Hield beat out for this record, fastest to a thousand made three-point shots is not even remotely an obscure statistic. All of them are better all-around players than Hield, but he is better than all of them in converting a larger number of threes in a shorter span of games.
It is what it is. He’s still not part of the team’s future, but the reflexive discount you place on this achievement isn’t likely shared by any number of NBA front offices.
I can’t really understand with the emergence of Hali why they haven’t attempted to go back to Buddy off the bench. I get he may complain about it, but damn if he isn’t better in that role. Last year both he and the Kings performed much better once he led the bench. 2019 he started and was good. 2018 he was terrible when starting and good again off the bench. 3 out of 4 years he has been bad to average when starting. There seems to be a large enough sample to indicate he is most effective leading the second unit.
I guess a concern is you lose bench playmaking with Hali starting, but that would have been a similar concern last year with Bogie. Didn’t seem to negatively effect them. Just let him come off the bench and fire away at this point. Getting a coach that could get him to buy into that role would be valuable.
Jordan Clarkson and Terrence Ross make about 13 mill a season. If Buddy could be that scorer off the bench (he’s done it) he would still be overpaid, but less so as his contract declines.
I wonder if it’s McNair’s attempt to showcase Buddy but little does he know the ineptitude of Walton would continue to hunt his ability to get positive returns on players
Still worth trading. 3 point shooting is replaceable.
Wait, another coach got canned before Luke? And they have a better record to boot!
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1366503507109564424
Ugh. That sucks. I’m hoping Luke doesn’t get canned during the season.
He is good for the tank, yes, but I just can’t stand having that dude associated with my favorite team.
He is a bigger buzz kill then all the losing and inconsistent players and owner meddling! I hated that hire from the get go and there is never a wrong time to can his ass!
Yeah, and I think that the damage that he has done cannot be undone on the run, so whoever would inherit this mess would see no tangible improvement.
The key is really whether the Kings can deal any current players of note (Barnes, Hield, Holmes) for tangible future assets. Any of those guys departing would have a bigger negative near-term impact than Walton leaving. And if Walton leaves in conjunction with one or more of the aforementioned players, the losses will take care of themselves. Let’s not forget that this is a bad team when it’s not trying to tank.
Love me some Richaun Holmes, but I’m not sure the Kings can get him for anything tangible in the market.
Which also makes me believe he’s gettable at the MLE this offseason. But that’s all just a hunch and as always proof is in the pudding.
The one thing that is in his favor is his expiring price tag. Unlike Barnes and Hield, most teams that could be interested in him would not have to jump through financial hoops to make a deal work.
I have not taken a hard look at which contending teams could use a value, high energy bench big that can contribute at both ends, but if a team is looking for last year’s Harrell, Holmes could be the guy.
He can fit into Miami’s TPE and, IMO, they could use a big man like him.
And while you’re probably not getting Achiuwa for him, given that Holmes is an expiring, would you settle for a Vincent, Strus or Okpala, then look at re-signing Holmes in the off-season? I’m sure that there would be zero hard feelings on his end for being dealt to a contender.
My thoughts exactly. Do him a favor but promise to pay him this summer.
Give me Okpala and a 2nd rounder or two and you have a deal.
I would ONLY be behind a trade Holmes scenario if the plan is to bring him back. I can’t overstate how much I enjoy watching that man apply his trade.
Interesting thoughts you two. I’d be okay with Okpala and a 2nd rounder.
Assets, assets, assets.
Lose Walton a buzzkill? Stand next to him for five minutes and see if you don’t get an amazing contact high from his clothes.
Maybe Atlanta will trade for Luke and get Buddy as a throw in? Luke was fire in his first months as a western conference coach. No reason to think it won’t be the same in the East?
It really is amazing that Luke still has a job. Any other team would have fired him by now. It has to come down to money.
Dullard bills!
The assistants required Luke to stay the year as they didn’t want the stink to land solely on them….?
After extensive (5 minutes) of Internet research, I can’t find anything about how much the Kings are paying Luke. But apparently he made $5m in his last year as coach of the Lakers. Assuming he is making the same, it would only take 250k fans paying $20 to cover his salary for a year and enable Monte to give him the walking papers (also assuming that only the next year of the 4-year deal is guaranteed although Vlade probably guaranteed the whole thing because….Vlade)
I’ll say this again, we obviously need to fire Walton, but the timing will be crucial. It should
(1) be after some trades & roster shuffling
(2) be after the Kings have secured a top-10 pick
(3) be right before we go full-on youth movement
The point being, we need at least a 7-5 position in the lottery and we need to move CoJo, Bjelly, Whiteside, and at least one of Hield and/or Barnes (I’m fine if one is still around to move on draft day). I’m okay trading Bags too, but only for a decent return…he has value as an off-the-bench point getter with the 2nd unit.
If Gentry takes over for the 2nd half and is playing youngsters…the feeling around the team should improve to one a bit more hopeful. The remaining Kings players need to feel like now that Walton is gone, we might be able to get a real coach in the offseason. The one thing we can’t afford is for players to go into the offseason thinking “F this team”.
Congrats to Buddy!. As he proved last night, he can still get buckets. He’ll never be a great defender, but I think his offense outweighs his average to below average defense. He has actually been doing a better job of not turning the ball over, so kudos to him. If you get a good deal, I’m o.k. to trade him, but not for “pocket lint.” BTW, when I hear that I picture Denzel Washington seated across from him asking “what do you see when you look at me?”
Good for Buddy, and all that. But I don’t give a rats ass about a ‘distinction’.
Plus, these milestones miss me generally speaking. I guess it’s supposed to be important, but it doesn’t feel like that to me. I guess I’m just not sentimental enough about this or something.
You aren’t the only one lacking sentiment about that crap.
I don’t see it so much as a milestone as an interesting bit of trivia.
In the day-to-day of ballgames, it’s not completely unimportant, but that’s not the same thing as saying it’s meaningless. That’s 3,000 points scored in the NBA. Not as many as I have, but it’s an unfair comparison.
Congrats Buddy. Hope you put up even more 3s here.
You can increase your stock price and perhaps exit Basketball Hell: 1. Worst NBA team/franchise in 2010s, and now 2020s 2. Worst fan base misery index 3. Currently worse defensive rating in NBA history.
Andre Dawson won MVP in 1987. The Cubs finished in last place.
Which I don’t have too much of a problem with since baseball is essentially an individual sport and one player, no matter how good, can’t really carry a team. A single basketball player can have FAR more influence over their team’s W-L record. Thus, judging them, to some degree, based on team success makes more sense.
Partially disagrees, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Vivek probably thinks Buddy’s the greatest shooter that’s ever lived now
If it raises his trade value. Great! Otherwise, the stats are meaningless in the grand scheme. Buddy has one great talent, most of his career. He does not offer much else as a basketball player. Comparing his numbers to Curry is in a word Laughable.
Badge Legend