Buddy Hield

Chavano Rainer "Buddy" Hield (born December 17, 1992) is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

In 2011, during Hield's junior year at Sunrise Christian he led the team to the National Association of Christian Athletes national championship, getting named the MVP of the tourney.

In the 2011-2012 season, his senior year, Hield averaged 22.7 points on .491 shooting in 21.0 minutes per game.

He was highly recruited and selected the Oklahoma Sooners over the Kansas Jayhawks.

As a freshman at Oklahoma, Hield scored 7.8 points per game, and was the recipient of the team's Most Inspirational Award.

He was a second-team All-Big 12 selection as a sophomore as he averaged 16.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

He worked on his defense prior to his junior year and expanded his offensive game to more of a high-volume three-point shooter.

Hield averaged 17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a junior at Oklahoma and shot 41 percent from the field.

He led Oklahoma to a 24–11 record and Sweet 16 berth.

He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners and was named the Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016.

Despite being a potential 2015 NBA draft selection, he decided to return for his senior season.

He was a First Team All-Big 12 selection and was named Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year.

Hield was listed on the Oscar Robertson Award preseason watchlist as well as the Naismith College Player of the Year preseason watchlist.

In 2016, he received four major national player of the year awards—the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Award, Sporting News Player of the Year, and the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

Hield was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans and was traded to the Sacramento Kings for DeMarcus Cousins in 2017.

He was dealt to the Indiana Pacers in a package for Domantas Sabonis in 2022.

In February of 2024 he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hield grew up in Eight Mile Rock, a coastal region west of Freeport, in the West Grand Bahama district in the Bahamas.

He was fifth of seven children of his mother Jackie Braynen.

Hield received his nickname from his mother after Bud Bundy of the sitcom Married... with Children.

Hield was first featured in high school by The All Bahamian Brand, a basketball magazine from the Bahamas.

Hield, as a young eighth-grader, was rated by the All Bahamian Brand as the best eighth-grader in the Bahamas and one to watch.

Hield showed his early ability to lead his team from a young age by taking his Jack Hayward High School basketball team to the championship of the Providence Holiday Tournament on a buzzer-beater and also leading his team to win the Grand Bahamas High School Championships.

For his exploits, Hield was named an All Bahamian Brand All Bahamian Selection.

After his performances in The Bahamas, Hield was recruited to attend Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, a basketball prep school in a suburb of Wichita, Kansas.

Former Wichita State assistant and then-Sunrise coach Kyle Lindsted recruited the 6-foot 4-inch (1.93 m) guard.

Hield recorded a career high of 46 points in a triple overtime loss to Kansas on January 4, 2016, receiving a standing ovation from the opposing crowd after a postgame interview with Scott Van Pelt.

His 46 points tied the record for most points scored by an opponent at Allen Fieldhouse.

He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy on February 11.

Following his senior year at Oklahoma, Hield won the John R. Wooden Award on April 7, 2016, as the best college basketball player for the 2015–16 season, in which he averaged 25 points, 5.7 rebounds, two assists per game, and led the nation in three-point shots.

On June 23, 2016, Hield was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

On July 22, 2016, he signed with the Pelicans.

On December 15, 2016, he had his best outing as a Pelican with 21 points and five three-pointers in a 102–95 win over the Indiana Pacers.

On January 3, 2017, he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December.

On February 20, 2017, Hield was traded, along with Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway and 2017 first-round and second-round draft picks, to the Sacramento Kings for DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi.

He made his debut for the Kings three days later, scoring 16 points off the bench in a 116–100 win over the Denver Nuggets.

He was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for March.

On April 11, he set a new career high with 30 points in a 129–104 win over the Phoenix Suns.

At the season's end, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Hield began the 2017–18 season as a starter before switching to a bench role and becoming the team's sixth man after seven games.