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NBA Mock Draft 2016: Pro Comparisons for Top 30 Prospects

By Maxwell Ogden

Jan 16, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Brandon Ingram (14) and guard Grayson Allen (3) celebrate a basket in their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Brandon Ingram (14) and guard Grayson Allen (3) celebrate a basket in their game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) celebrates as a leaves the court following a win against the LSU Tigers in a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Oklahoma defeated LSU 77-75. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) celebrates as a leaves the court following a win against the LSU Tigers in a game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Oklahoma defeated LSU 77-75. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

12. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners

Ultimate Upside Comparison: James Harden

Safe Upside Comparison: Jeff Hornacek

Position: Shooting Guard

Age: 22 (12/17/1993)

Height, Weight, Wingspan: 6’4.5″, 215 pounds, 6’8.5″

Slash Line: .518/.500/.902

Season Averages: 34.3 MPG, 25.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 4.2 3PM

If there’s one thing that the nation has learned about Oklahoma Sooners star Buddy Hield, it’s that he can shoot the lights out. His range is limitless, his stroke is gorgeous, and his clutch factor blends fearlessness with the genuine ability to finish against length.

Perhaps the most underrated aspect of Hield’s game is that he’s a very good passer.

The numbers will tell you whatever it is that you want them to, but Hield anticipates plays and passes his teammates open. He’s not a point guard, but he sees the floor well in transition and is very much a team-first player in the way he willingly works with his teammates to create openings.

On the offensive end of things, Hield is the proper training technique away from improving his ball-handling and becoming a star-caliber prospect.

Hield stands at just under 6’5″, which helps him avoid the bust potential of undersized point guards and tweeners who can’t run point. His age concerns some, but Hield’s ability to shoot from anywhere, as well as the added benefit of defensive potential, make him a Top 15 prospect.

Hield has received a number of upside comparisons to great shooters, but his ability to attack the heart of a defense and facilitate is he’s compared to former All-Star guard Jeff Hornacek.

Next: The Sleeper

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