Former Oklahoma Sooners star helped his team do the unthinkable on the biggest stage

Even though the Oklahoma Sooners are a predominantly football and softball school, they have had some really great athletes come through on the basketball side of things, too.

Of course, there is Norman's own in Trae Young, and Oklahoma City's own in Blake Griffin, both of whom have had great NBA careers. And then there is Buddy Hield, who isn't from Oklahoma, or even the United States, but was one of the most influential guys to play at Oklahoma in some time -- a true superstar putting on for the Bahamas.

He's been with several teams in the NBA, but on Tuesday, he did something pretty great.

Buddy Hield helped the Warriors win Game 1 in Round 2

Hield played at Oklahoma from 2012 to 2016, becoming one of the Sooners’ best scorers ever. In his senior year in 2015-16, Hield averaged 25 points, five rebounds, and two assists per game, shooting 45.7% from three. Hield won the 2016 Wooden Award, Naismith Award, and was a consensus First-Team All-American.

Drafted sixth overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2016, Buddy Hield was traded to the Sacramento Kings in 2017 in the DeMarcus Cousins deal. With the Kings, he became a top-three-point shooter, setting a franchise record with 245 threes in 2018-19 and an NBA record for most threes in a player’s first three seasons with 712.

Traded to the Indiana Pacers in 2022, he broke Reggie Miller’s single-season three-point record for the team. In February 2024, Hield joined the Philadelphia 76ers, but his role dropped, averaging 12.1 points in 25.7 minutes. In July 2024, he signed with the Golden State Warriors to replace Klay Thompson. As of January 2025, Hield averages 21.9 points and shoots 50% from three, fitting well with the Warriors’ contending roster.