The Tribune

On his best shooting night of the season, Chavano “Buddy” Hield remained his harshest critic despite adding another three-point milestone to his résumé.

In Sunday night’s 127-126 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Hield became the fastest player to make 1,000 career three-pointers.

“If I shot the ball better earlier this season I probably would have been up there quicker,” the Sacramento Kings sharpshooter said after the game.

“I’m grateful, I’m thankful. For a kid from The Bahamas to be able to get that milestone is a humbling experience and I hope I can keep inspiring kids from the Caribbean and around the world, especially international kids, so somebody can come and beat that record soon.”

Hield set the mark in just 350 games to reach the milestone faster than Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors who held the previous record of 369 games. The top four also includes the Warriors’ Klay Thompson (372 games) and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers (385 games).

Hield finished Sunday’s game with a season high 30 points on 10-17 shooting from the field, including 8-15 from three-point range.

He also added seven assists and had a +12 PER in 39 minutes.

Hield’s record setting three came at the 7:56 mark in the third quarter. He curled off a Marvin Bagley screen and made his seventh three of the game over the outstretched hand of the Hornets’ Terry Rozier.

“It’s humbling to be the fastest to 1,000,” Hield said. “Me, being in college watching guys like Steph and Ray Allen - the greats - the way Steph shot the three ball, everyone wanted to shoot like him, be able to pull up threes like him and those are the guys that set the path for us in this generation. It’s humbling [to be mentioned] with guys like those and Reggie Miller, the greats that came before us.”

The reigning MTN Dew 3-Point Contest champion at NBA All-Star Weekend said he is still unsure whether he will return to defend his title in 2021.

This year’s contest will be hosted March 7, prior to the tip-off of the 2021 All-Star Game.

“I don’t know yet I’ve been having mixed emotions with the COVID restrictions, especially since I haven’t had much time with my family. I’m just trying to see how the COVID rules and boundaries are set up,” Hield said. “No clear cut ‘yes’ yet so we will see in the next couple of days.”

The fifth year Kings guard is averaging 16 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season on 39 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent from three-point range. Hield’s early season struggles saw his streak of consecutive games with at least one made three pointer come to an end at 87 in the Kings’ 119-114 win over the Denver Nuggets on February 5.

At the time, it was the longest active streak in the NBA. Curry now has the longest active three-point streak at 97 games. Curry also holds the all-time record for most consecutive games with a three pointer made at 157.

In the 2019-20 season, Hield went on to set another milestone on February 8 when he shot 9-10 from beyond the arc, scoring 31 points in the Kings’ 122-102 win over the San Antonio Spurs and simultaneously became the fastest player in NBA history to make 800 career three-point field goals.

He accomplished the feat in just 296 games to surpass the mark set by Curry, who did it in 305 games.

He finished the season with 873 threes, more three-point field goals than any other player in his first four NBA seasons. He surpassed the previous record of 828 set by Lillard.