Kings: Buddy Hield Wins Three Point Contest During All-Star Saturday
The Sacramento Kings having a representative at All-Star Weekend is rather rare, but Buddy Hield made the most of it this season.
NBA All-Star Weekend was in full swing in Chicago on Saturday, and the one Sacramento Kings representative was victorious in his event. Buddy Hield was the winner of the Three-Point Contest, and he secured his triumph in dramatic fashion.
Hield competed against Devin Booker and Davis Bertans in the final round, ultimately needing to overcome the high bar that Booker would set. The Suns guard was a replacement for Damian Lillard, who injured his groin just days prior, and scored a solid 26 points on his final turn.
Hield would follow with a clutch performance. After making just two of a possible five shots on his first rack, he made twelve of his next thirteen shots (excluding the new 30-foot shot, of which Hield missed both) to start to put the pressure on Booker.
He needed to hit four of five shots on his final rack in order to take home the trophy, and he did just that. The only shot that he missed of the final five was the fourth, which set up a dramatic final attempt that Hield sunk before a boisterous celebration.
His Three Point Contest victory makes Hield the first Sacramento King to win an event on All-Star Saturday since Peja Stojakovic won back-to-back Three Point titles in 2002 and 2003. Hield came in third place last year behind Joe Harris and Stephen Curry.
While winning any All-Star Saturday event is nothing more than a personal achievement, the Kings and their fans will take any victories they can get, no matter how insignificant they might be. The 2019-20 season has been nothing short of a gigantic disappointment, so watching one of our guys take home an award of any kind is a win in our book.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive apparently felt the same way. He rushed the court to congratulate Hield upon the sharpshooter’s receiving of the trophy.
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The last time any Sacramento King won any hardware on All-Star Weekend was when Bogdan Bogdanovic was the MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge in 2018.