Call it blind faith or a coach's special intuition, but Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors are feeling the ultimate benefit of holding season-long faith in Buddy Hield.
Ask most Warrior fans and they'll say Hield has been the most frustrating player on the team this season, yet even they are realizing that the faith continually placed in the veteran guard has now actually been worth it.
The Warriors are being rewarded for their faith in Buddy Hield
From Christmas Day onwards, Hield shot less than 34% (33.7% to be exact) from 3-point range over the final 54 games of the season. For a player whose value relies almost solely on their 3-point shooting, it's easy to understand why fans were calling for Hield to have a lesser role or be out of the rotation entirely.
Yet through all the positives and negatives -- of which it was mainly the latter over the last 60 games -- Hield never played less than 12 minutes in a game during the regular season. In fact, he played less than 15 minutes only six times as he became the only Warrior to appear in all 82 games.
As a result of keeping him engaged, invested and with a steady role, Golden State have got the Hield we've seen over the last two games -- the one who's made 14 threes and who has led the team in scoring in two massive playoff victories.
Buddy Hield’s defense improving in the playoffs is not something I expected. I wonder if the 7-game nature of individual series work to his benefit by giving him more info and time to prep and a more focused game plan, while in regular season, games and opponents are one big blur
— play-in game hater (@_itskellyo) May 7, 2025
Don’t wanna trade Buddy Hield anymore 😭 pic.twitter.com/6mN0QJuHKg
— Chef curry (Parody) (@baby_face_goat) May 7, 2025
Buddy hield literally is our saviour for the last 2 games bro pic.twitter.com/gNciaS24fw
— ³⁰ (@30_Dynasty) May 7, 2025
The concept that Hield could be a meaningful playoff contributor was a foreign one for not only Warrior fans, but also neutral fans who've been watching the 32-year-old over his nine-year career to date.
Forget the playoffs for a moment, the idea of Hield simply as a winning player had been in question over his career. This season was just the second time in his career where Hield has recorded a positive plus-minus across the course of a full campaign, with this subsequently just his second trip to the postseason after initially being taken sixth overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016.
Yet despite the near decade-long history and his form over this regular season, Kerr maintained belief that Hield could make a positive impact when it mattered most. Now Golden State fans have no choice but to believe as well, having seen him spring to life in shocking fashion over recent days.
With Stephen Curry set to miss multiple games due to his hamstring strain, the Warriors will have to hold even more faith in Hield to make up some of the shooting/scoring production as he did in the second-half of Game 1 on Tuesday.