The NBA has new long-range shooting royalty in ‘King’ Buddy Hield

Move over, Splash Bros — you’ve got competition in Northern California in the three-point shooting department. Buddy Hield has hit 1,209 buckets from downtown in his first 400 NBA games, which is the most of any player in that amount of time in the league’s history. Hield beat out Stephen Curry (1,121), Klay Thompson (1,098), and Damian Lillard (1,051) over that span.

Of course, when you play for the Sacramento Kings and achieve a milestone like this, it’s likely to be the only celebration that night. Buddy scored 14 points off the bench against the OKC Thunder in a 105-103 losing effort when he reached the shooting milestone. This is just another bargaining chip added to the eventual deal that moves Hield far away from Sacramento.

The Kings were set to send Hield to the Lakers this summer, but then the Russell Westbrook-LeBron James union stole the front page, and the Hield-to-LA trade was dropped altogether. I know the Lakers wish they could take that decision back. This milestone should have happened for Hield in Los Angeles during a game they probably would have won.

Whether it’s the Lakers or another team, Hield needs to be moved, and hopefully, it’s to a contender when it happens. I’m sure everyone would love to see him be the sharpshooter for a championship contender or just a playoff team in general. That Kings’ ship is headed for the Bermuda Triangle on a one-way trip, and Buddy needs to hop off while there’s still time.

The Kings might be doing lots of selling at the trade deadline this year, and I’m sure everything and everybody that isn’t named De’Aaron Fox will be on the block. The Kings should have no problem finding Hield a new home, as there’s always room for a three-point sniper on an NBA roster. He’d be an exceptional third or fourth option for plenty of teams, but it’s just a matter of Sacramento making it happen.

If Hield keeps shooting it the way he has over his first few years in the league, he’ll be breaking and setting a few more records along the way. Sooner or later, Hield will have his opportunity to do it on the big stage, and we’ll see how he handles that type of pressure. But for now, just being in the NBA record books alongside names like Curry, Thompson, and Lillard isn’t a bad start.