Sacramento Kings: 2017-18 player grades for Buddy Hield

Highlights

In all of Hield’s best games, his stellar 3-point shooting was the common thread. Take his 27-point outing against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 25, for example.

Hield shot a blistering 7-for-9 from 3-point range in that game, which included him drilling a late-game dagger over Blake Griffin to tie the game with 14.8 seconds left. Griffin would answer back with a fadeaway jumper over Willie Cauley-Stein to win the game for L.A., but that’s neither here nor there.

Hield also looked good in the Rising Stars game. I know, I know, this game doesn’t really mean anything and the teams have a, uh, more liberal approach to defense in these exhibitions. But the players still have to make the shots and Hield had no trouble doing that.

He finished with 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting. Due to the lax nature of the game, Hield got a lot of open looks and transitions layups, but he did hit a nice step-back 3 over John Collins three minutes into the second quarter (read about him more here) after he switched onto Hield following a Dario Saric side pick-and-roll.

This game won’t tell you much about Hield’s game, but it gave me a good chance to show him and the other young players in those great jerseys that were modeled after the Los Angeles Lakers’ swank throwback alternates.

Based on his game score, Hield’s finest outing came against the Miami Heat on March 14. In the Kings’ four-point win, Hield finished with a +11, dropping 24 points with six rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals.

Hield scored on his fair share of jumpers, but he also played a bit more aggressively, as he drove and cut to the hoop many times to create chances for himself and his comrades.