Post by Rog on Dec 12, 2017 12:16:41 GMT
The 99th episode of the NBN Hall of Fame is Buddy Hield, a fantastic and elite scorer who didn't do a ton more. Was he good enough of a scorer or good enough in other ways to justify a Hall of Fame vote, or does he fall short due to his shortcomings in other ways? Lets take a look.
Career Stats
36.7 MPG, 26.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 2.6 TOPG on 47.9% from the field, 89.5% from the line, and 43.8% from three
Best Season
Spurs(2026) - 32.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 3.1 TOPG on 48.1% from the field, 93% from the line, and 42.4% from three
Notable Career Leaderboard Rankings
Points - 32nd
Achievements
Championships: 2
Player of the Game: 102
Player of the Week: 2
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 122
Triple Doubles: 1
Career Highs
Points: 61
Rebounds: 16
Assists: 10
Steals: 7
Blocks: 2
Awards
2014 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2014 - All-Rookie Team
2020 - All-Star Game Participant
2021 - All-Star Game Participant
2024 - 3-Point Shootout Champion
2024 - All-League First Team
2025 - All-Star Game Participant
2025 - All-League Second Team
2025 - All-Defensive Second Team
2026 - All-Star Game Participant
2026 - All-League Second Team
Arguments For Induction
- Buddy Hield played in four All-Star Games in his career as well as being named to two All-League 2nd teams and a 1st team as well. He also won a three point shoot out proving how amazing of a shooter he was in his career. He was also a part of two championship teams as well, proving that his flaws didn't bring down teams either.
- Almost exclusively, Buddy Hield was about as elite of a scorer as you can ask for from a shooting guard. Middleton excelled here too, but Hield averaged more points with 26.2 a game in his career, as well as having a far longer, and better scoring peak. Except for a weird season where he didn't get starters minutes for whatever reason, he had eight straight seasons to end his career over 27 points a game, about where the elite scorers start. You could count on big numbers from Hield if he was your shooting guard, and he continually provided them.
- Hield looked like he would have issues coming in with rebounding, but he really turned out to be an above average rebounder. He averaged 6.3 rebounds per game, similar to Middleton. He was more consistent and wasn't as elite in the few years like Middleton though. But as said, he was consistently good at rebounding, never falling below 5.5 a game, which is still good.
- While he wasn't a good defender, his overall game is good enough to propel him to a better case than Middleton and a Hall of Fame induction. He was an all time great scorer at the shooting guard position. He has some awards, he has dominant statistics. He may have appeared to just be a scorer but with his 6.3 rebounds per game, 3.6 assists per game, and 1.7 steals per game over his career, hep roved he was more than a slick shooting, great scoring shooting guard who didn't do much else. If that isn't a Hall of Fame shooting guard, we're going to have issues as the greats from this era start pouring in.
Arguments Against Induction
- Similar to how Middleton's awards looked, Buddy still has an awards issue. They are there, but only three times in his career was he considered a top 3 player at his position? Four times when he was an All-Star? I think that is a bit light in that department, it raises enough doubts about his overall game.
- Buddy had a serious turnover issue, especially later on in his career. As his volume rose, so did his turnovers. For a shooting guard his 2.6 turnovers a game is bad enough, but he reached a decent bit over that a few times in his career. With no defense to back him up, thats a rough thing to have to accept when inserting him into the lineup.
- Seriously though, not an elite level thief and carried at his best a 'B-' defensive rating. He was a serious liability on that end of the court that you just can't cover up in this league. Especially with how powerful those shooting guards were in his era, you got absolutely insaned night in and night out from the position with Hield there.
- Overall, he gets to compete directly with Middleton for votes here, or at least will be compared pretty heavily. Buddy Hield wins that comparison statistically. But despite winning 2 titles to Middleton's 1, Middleton had a reputation as a guy who could hit big shots and do the things you needed a guy to do for a winning team. Hield has big holes in his case, not the least of which was his benching on a 26 win Rockets team in the middle of his career. Is that a guy you think should be in the Hall of Fame?
Vote carefully, and remember to throw out arguments regardless of which side you're on. This should be a discussion that eventually gets the league to the proper decision on him. Your vote can also be retracted after it's been cast if you feel like switching to the other side based on the arguments that have been made. To be inducted, a player needs 70% and to be considered in a later class they need 50%. Vote carefully.
***BONUS - Don't forget that everyone who votes gets $25 and the person that makes the best argument or contributes to the discussion the best will be awarded an extra $25***
Career Stats
36.7 MPG, 26.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 2.6 TOPG on 47.9% from the field, 89.5% from the line, and 43.8% from three
Best Season
Spurs(2026) - 32.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 3.1 TOPG on 48.1% from the field, 93% from the line, and 42.4% from three
Notable Career Leaderboard Rankings
Points - 32nd
Achievements
Championships: 2
Player of the Game: 102
Player of the Week: 2
Player of the Month: 0
Double Doubles: 122
Triple Doubles: 1
Career Highs
Points: 61
Rebounds: 16
Assists: 10
Steals: 7
Blocks: 2
Awards
2014 - All-Star Rookie Game Participant
2014 - All-Rookie Team
2020 - All-Star Game Participant
2021 - All-Star Game Participant
2024 - 3-Point Shootout Champion
2024 - All-League First Team
2025 - All-Star Game Participant
2025 - All-League Second Team
2025 - All-Defensive Second Team
2026 - All-Star Game Participant
2026 - All-League Second Team
Arguments For Induction
- Buddy Hield played in four All-Star Games in his career as well as being named to two All-League 2nd teams and a 1st team as well. He also won a three point shoot out proving how amazing of a shooter he was in his career. He was also a part of two championship teams as well, proving that his flaws didn't bring down teams either.
- Almost exclusively, Buddy Hield was about as elite of a scorer as you can ask for from a shooting guard. Middleton excelled here too, but Hield averaged more points with 26.2 a game in his career, as well as having a far longer, and better scoring peak. Except for a weird season where he didn't get starters minutes for whatever reason, he had eight straight seasons to end his career over 27 points a game, about where the elite scorers start. You could count on big numbers from Hield if he was your shooting guard, and he continually provided them.
- Hield looked like he would have issues coming in with rebounding, but he really turned out to be an above average rebounder. He averaged 6.3 rebounds per game, similar to Middleton. He was more consistent and wasn't as elite in the few years like Middleton though. But as said, he was consistently good at rebounding, never falling below 5.5 a game, which is still good.
- While he wasn't a good defender, his overall game is good enough to propel him to a better case than Middleton and a Hall of Fame induction. He was an all time great scorer at the shooting guard position. He has some awards, he has dominant statistics. He may have appeared to just be a scorer but with his 6.3 rebounds per game, 3.6 assists per game, and 1.7 steals per game over his career, hep roved he was more than a slick shooting, great scoring shooting guard who didn't do much else. If that isn't a Hall of Fame shooting guard, we're going to have issues as the greats from this era start pouring in.
Arguments Against Induction
- Similar to how Middleton's awards looked, Buddy still has an awards issue. They are there, but only three times in his career was he considered a top 3 player at his position? Four times when he was an All-Star? I think that is a bit light in that department, it raises enough doubts about his overall game.
- Buddy had a serious turnover issue, especially later on in his career. As his volume rose, so did his turnovers. For a shooting guard his 2.6 turnovers a game is bad enough, but he reached a decent bit over that a few times in his career. With no defense to back him up, thats a rough thing to have to accept when inserting him into the lineup.
- Seriously though, not an elite level thief and carried at his best a 'B-' defensive rating. He was a serious liability on that end of the court that you just can't cover up in this league. Especially with how powerful those shooting guards were in his era, you got absolutely insaned night in and night out from the position with Hield there.
- Overall, he gets to compete directly with Middleton for votes here, or at least will be compared pretty heavily. Buddy Hield wins that comparison statistically. But despite winning 2 titles to Middleton's 1, Middleton had a reputation as a guy who could hit big shots and do the things you needed a guy to do for a winning team. Hield has big holes in his case, not the least of which was his benching on a 26 win Rockets team in the middle of his career. Is that a guy you think should be in the Hall of Fame?
Vote carefully, and remember to throw out arguments regardless of which side you're on. This should be a discussion that eventually gets the league to the proper decision on him. Your vote can also be retracted after it's been cast if you feel like switching to the other side based on the arguments that have been made. To be inducted, a player needs 70% and to be considered in a later class they need 50%. Vote carefully.
***BONUS - Don't forget that everyone who votes gets $25 and the person that makes the best argument or contributes to the discussion the best will be awarded an extra $25***
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