Hield details joy he felt playing in ‘happiest’ season with Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Buddy Hield enjoyed every bit of his first NBA season with the Warriors.
There were high-highs and low-lows, but Hield cherished his 2024-25 campaign with Golden State, despite it ending in heartbreak with a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday at Target Center.
The veteran guard spoke to reporters Thursday at his end-of-season press conference, where he was asked how he viewed his first year with the Warriors.
“This is the happiest I’ve ever been playing basketball, and I tell the guys ‘This season went by so fast’ because of how much fun I had, there was a lot of joy being around Steve [Kerr] and his group, being around the players, the training staff,” Hield said. “They all made me feel welcome.
“And I feel like it went by so fast, and most teams I’ve been on, it feels like it’s very long, like ‘When am I getting out of here?’ This organization, I never felt one day I was like, ‘I can’t wait for summer.’ I’m like really mad I have to go enjoy summer because basketball was so fun.”
Hield came to the Warriors last offseason from the Philadelphia 76ers in a multi-team sign-and-trade deal that landed franchise icon Klay Thompson with the Dallas Mavericks.
He started the season red-hot, but struggled throughout the middle part of the campaign. In 82 regular-season games (11 starts), Hield averaged 11.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 41.7-percent shooting from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range.
In Golden State’s 12 playoff games this season, including a historic 33-point performance in Game 7 of the Warriors’ first-round series against the Houston Rockets, Hield averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on 41.6-percent shooting from the field and 42.9 percent from distance.
“Meaningful basketball was so fun,” Hield added. “Preparing every day for the playoff game was fun. And I really enjoyed being here, man.”
Hield signed a four-year, $37.7 million contract with Philadelphia last offseason and is under contract for two more seasons, with a $10.1 million player option for the 2027-28 season. Barring a trade this summer, it appears his fun with Golden State could continue.
